Battle Wounds + Top 10 Games of the Decade

2/27/2020

A few weeks ago, I injured my neck, which has made it difficult to write since and has delayed OKAK a little. You will be pleased to know that I have since achieved sweet revenge against the bear that wounded me, which has aided in the healing process.

So since I don't have a lot of progress to share, here's a post I wrote at the end of 2019 and never got around to posting: Will's Top 10 Games of the Decade!

A couple of rules:

First, these are my favorite games according to how much they meant to me or how attached I was to them. Not necessarily the ten games I'd say are the best of the decade.

Second, only games released in 2010-2019 count.

Third, the rankings are flexible. They're mostly accurate in relation to one another, but whether something is my fifth favorite or my fourth favorite could change pretty easily depending on the day.

Finally, League of Legends isn't on the list. It was my most-played game of the decade, probably by a massive margin, but it's hard to call it my favorite game. It's more like a hobby.

Without further ado, here's my list of my favorite games from last decade!

10.) God of War (2018)
AKA God of Boi, Dad of War, Dad of Boi. I don't finish many linear story-driven RPGs because my single-player game time is limited and often I don't get engaged in the story, but this one sucked me in all the way until the end. Also the world and gameplay are great.

This one narrowly edged out Spider-Man for the tenth place slot, mainly because God of War didn't have any sections where you were forced to play as the main character's superpower-less girlfriend and watch from the sidelines as the actual protagonist did fun things without you.

9.) Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I really hope open-world games start copying from Breath of the Wild, because it's the most fun I've ever had just running around a huge, gorgeous world. And the combat is surprisingly fun and deep.

It could easily be higher on this list in terms of how much I enjoyed it, but most of the titles with higher numbers have some connection to me personally. This one isn't special to Will Wight, it's just an excellent game.

8.) Dark Souls
The original. Not the sequels.

People talk about the "Dark Souls feeling" as that feeling of mastery you get when you slam your head against an impossible boss fight until you finally get better and defeat it and get that sense of euphoria as you overcome a challenge with your own skill.

The original Dark Souls made me feel that, and I try to chase that to this day. Most of the sequels, spinoffs, and Soulslikes I didn't enjoy as much...mainly because they don't have navigational mechanics, and I am the world's most directionally challenged being. Instead of being frustrated by the game's difficulty, I'm frustrated because I can't find where I'm supposed to go and I've run around this courtyard thirteen times killing the same zombies over and over.

The original Dark Souls didn't have a map either, but the maps are so compact and well-designed that I had a much easier time getting around. I'd sacrifice newer graphics for a more straightforward level design any day.

7.) Doki Doki Literature Club
Excellent storytelling. No joke.

...moving on.

6.) Stardew Valley
I never enjoyed these chore-a-day type games until Stardew, which sucked me in with the addictive Harvest Moon gameplay and kept me there with charm and personality.

I once joked that when multiplayer Stardew Valley came out I would never finish a book again, and I now realize that it wasn't a joke, please someone help me.

5.) Undertale
I can't say anything about this game that a thousand screaming children haven't said on YouTube already, but in spite of the hype it's a genuinely excellent game with inventive mechanics and deceptively relatable characters.

I was lucky enough to go into the game without too much spoiled for me, and that's how I recommend it. Even the moments that were spoiled still landed, and now I carry Undertale with me wherever I go on my Switch. For when I need an emotional punch to the gut so I can cry on an airplane.

4.) Skyrim
I initially didn't have Skyrim on this list at all.

I thought, "I haven't played Skyrim that much, but for the sake of science, let's see how much time I've put into Skyrim on Steam. Huh. What about on Xbox? Interesting. And on Switch..."

Now it's #4.

3.) Minecraft
This should honestly be #1.

I put it down two places because Minecraft doesn't need any more hype. This is probably the only game that rivals League of Legends in terms of the amount of time I spent playing it last decade, and since I was lucky enough to get into the alpha before the game's reputation skyrocketed, it is one of those games that I feel a real personal connection to.

As does the whole generation of middle schoolers that has now grown up playing it. Way to make me feel old, Minecraft.

2.) Terraria
...but since we're talking personal preference here, I do prefer Terraria's style to Minecraft's.

Honestly, the first three games are all in contention for my favorite game of all time. I find Terraria so charming and engaging that I do a fresh playthrough probably twice a year.

Unlike Minecraft, where the lure of playing comes from huge projects like remodeling a mountain to look like your childhood bully's face and then blowing the crap out of it with TNT, Terraria lures you in with projects like "Build a better magic gun so that you can blow up a titanic mechanical worm-god and build an even better magic gun."

It's packed to the gills with content, and it's pure fun.

1.) Subnautica
Yes, it's Subnautica. Of course it's Subnautica. Go play Subnautica.

-Will

60 Comments

2/27/2020 03:16:39 pm

After watching you stream subnautica, I wanted to buy it but I forgot about it until just now

iloverugs

2/27/2020 05:11:03 pm

I actually got and beat subnautica because of your stream, Will. So thanks for that along with your books. Also, I declare it's your fault that spent too much time on it, so I'm not guilty of my poor life decisions.

Will link

3/9/2020 09:20:19 am

You and I have something in common, then: I also blame my poor life decisions on Will Wight.

Ben

3/9/2020 11:55:32 pm

My favorite games are:

Destiny 1 & 2 - They've had their ups and downs but I've generally found the game enjoyable. I like to hone my PvP skills with unique builds. I have put the most hours into these games, by far.

Terraria - If you haven't tried modding yet Mr. Wight, I highly recommend you do so. There are plenty of fun and interesting mods to freshen up repeat play-throughs.

Minecraft - I bought Minecraft a few years before it became popular at the behest of a friend who had a private server. I have fond memories of goofing around with him and a few others on the server.

Spiral Knights - I don't know exactly why I put this game on this list. I haven't put very many hours into it but whenever I do boot it up I get an enormous sense of nostalgia playing it.

GTFO - Currently my favorite game. I don't normally play horror games but I got GTFO to play with some friends and boy is it a blast. Scary, sweaty, and hard it is a unique hardcore FPS experience.

Rab

5/8/2020 01:30:12 am

Holy shit I found someone else who plays Spiral Knights! It was a huge part of my tweenage years and although I don't play it often, its the sole game I've never deleted off my computer :)

TLR

2/27/2020 04:21:47 pm

I agree with this list wholeheartedly even though I wasn't able to play some of these.

Kandra

2/27/2020 04:29:42 pm

Hmmm. This is suspicious, I don't think Florida is known for bears... Don't you mean Alligator Sacred Beast?

3/9/2020 09:19:45 am

There are plenty of bears in Florida: gatorbears, the most vicious species known to bearkind.

Mark

2/27/2020 04:37:52 pm

League was my most played too! I would love to play a custom with you sometime. I love all of your books, and I am constantly reading one, even when I am reading another series. Thanks for sharing your gift!

Justin

2/27/2020 04:38:42 pm

I totally agree with the Skyrim comment its 8th in steam but if i add it all up together (VR, special edition, 360... etc) well i think i may have had an addiction

Obbu

2/27/2020 04:43:46 pm

Most of the games you list are either already on my own list, on my "I should play that" list, or at least are recognizably my type of game.

So I basically agree on most things :)

If you haven't checked out Monster Hunter: World - this was by far the biggest surprise of the last few years for me, as I'd never played the series previously. It scratched a lot of the same itches that Dark Souls does (deep combat, improvement through crushing defeat, rewarding mastery of map knowledge).

Also, if you're looking for a fresh way to play through Terraria - I recently tried out Calamity mod and was blown away by the scope and quality of the content.

Don't Starve also ticks a lot of the boxes of these other survival-farming games, and I'd highly recommend that as well :)

The only curveball on your list for me is doki doki literature club, but after reading a brief synopsis, I think I might need to check that out as well :D

3/9/2020 09:15:30 am

Here's my experience with Monster Hunter: World.

MY FRIENDS: Oh, Will, you're going to love this. I know you didn't really like the previous Monster Hunter games, but this is right up your alley. It's got an immersive world, challenging combat, specific character builds...it's amazing.

So I play it for four or five hours and I find it repetitive, unchallenging, and full of inscrutable subsystems that obviously aren't necessary because I can solve all my monster problems with vigorous applications of cutlery.

MY FRIENDS: No no, stick with it, the monster variety is amazing and you can use so many different playstyles. Trust us, when you finally take down a monster that's really been giving you trouble, you'll get that Dark Souls feeling.

I play for five or six more hours. I don't need to learn monster patterns, I just need to use the basic bread-and-butter combo on my weapon and dodge whenever I feel like it and equip whatever element the monster is weak to. After that, it's just a chore slowly chipping down their massive health pool until they run away and I have to sloooowly track them down over the massive level and then slooooooowly grind their HP down again.

And sometimes the timer runs out and then you have to start the entire slooooooooooooow process over again.

MY FRIENDS: Oh, your problem is that you're playing alone. Play with us!

They're two million levels higher than me. The levels become me running around watching them kill monsters who melt away before their superior gear. It's slightly less interactive than a Let's Play.

MY FRIENDS: Well, don't worry, once you beat the game and start hunting High Monsters (or whatever the heck they're called), that's when you'll really start being able to make builds and then you'll have fun!

I check my PS4 time played. 25 hours.

I quit and uninstall.

Not that I'm bitter.

3/10/2020 12:03:18 am

Damn :D - maybe not then!

I can see the argument that the monsters have a lot of health, and that's not for everyone. There's definitely something to be said for keeping combat snappy, though I find most people have their own sweet spot for how fast that should be.

For me, I often find the problem sways too far in the opposite direction, with so many ARPGs dealing out combat that revolves around one-shotting everything before it has a chance to fight back - but by the same token, the fight->chase->fight->chase rhythm of monster hunter can definitely overstay it's welcome.

Bill Redflame

2/27/2020 06:56:25 pm

What? Injured? Noooooo!
Calling all the chiropractors, churgeons, magis, mediciners, fro-yo go-go, and for-sure-works-as-seen-on-tv neck remedies.... fixith ye the Will!

Jason

3/2/2020 11:39:51 pm

Chiropractor reporting for duty.....if Will is coming to Iowa that is.....

3/9/2020 09:05:43 am

Can't make it to Iowa, but my chirurgeons have done a heck of a job.

D rk M tter

2/27/2020 07:26:50 pm

Soooo... When is the next Cradle release date?

3/9/2020 09:05:21 am

When I know, you'll know!

Sha Miara, Who Has Been Publically Congratulated by Will for Her Subnautica Playing Skills

2/27/2020 08:13:06 pm

Sadly, I am waiting for the Subnautica developers to finish making the ending for Subnautica: Below Zero. Their lead writer took off though and now they're rewriting the story, so I'll just have to wait a little longer.

3/9/2020 09:05:02 am

I normally would consider that a red flag, but SO often during the first Subnautica's development they scrapped a major feature and started over from scratch, and it ended up being a huge improvement.

At the beginning they intended for it to be a terrain manipulation game and they had a terraformer in it for a long time, and when they talked about removing it I was like "Oh no, they've lost their vision for the game and now it's going to be ruined!"

But no, they were always right. I greatly admire their transparency and willingness to shift gears without losing sight of their ultimate goal, so I have boatloads (ba-dum-psch) of trust for them at this point.

Though I am sad to see the original writer go, since I enjoy the story of the first one.

Frank

2/27/2020 08:51:20 pm

Will,
These are all just excuses, we need a book.

3/9/2020 09:03:01 am

I'm sorry, Frank! I'm trying my best!

Skyy

2/28/2020 02:03:14 am

Excellent list.

It seems we have similar tastes.

If you haven't played it. I highly highly recommend Hollow Knight. It's a masterpiece. It's in my top two games this decade along side Stardew Valley.

Thank you for all you put into your books. So much resonates within me from the emotions you put into your characters.

Hope your year is going well.

3/9/2020 09:01:43 am

Thanks, Skyy! I'm glad you're enjoying the books!

I just responded to another recommendation for Hollow Knight, and as I put it down there: "the music and atmosphere and combat and setting and animation and movement and character design were all exquisite."

...but I still got frustrated and eventually quit playing.

My sense of direction is truly the stuff of cartoons and nightmares. I could get lost without moving an inch. So I choose to blame myself rather than the game, because based on everything I hear most normal human beings did not have the experience I did.

I found that despite the mapping mechanics in the game, I was spending 90% of my time wandering aimlessly and backtracking, hoping to stumble on progression. I even looked up maps and walkthroughs, which I normally don't do on a first playthrough, hoping to pinpoint where I was, and it still didn't help.

I realized that the only thing that was motivating me to keep going in any given area was the hope of filling in more detail on the map so that I wouldn't have to drift around anymore, and that was the final nail in the coffin that was my Hollow Knight experience.

So I didn't enjoy it at all, which is a real shame, because the style and charm and art and music all seem right up my alley.

(I made it through the city area before I called it quits. The City of Tears? I don't remember, I just have trauma nightmares of dying in the church-like towers and respawning at the bonfire in the courtyard down below and knowing that I had no idea how to get back to where I was. After that happened four or five times of me dying and blindly fumbling back to my souls, I just quit.)

Banished to the trash dimension

2/28/2020 07:56:28 am

If you wanna chase chase the dark souls high, I've had some success in finding that fix.

Hollow Knight and Salt & Sanctuary are very souls esk, and have cool stories and solid gameplay. Hollow Knight is quite easy to get around in, though Salt and Sanc can be rather labyrinthian.

If you like challenge game with enticing miserable atmosphere, look at the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, especially the Anomaly mod (a free standalone mod that adds a ton of stuff in a sandbox experience).

3/9/2020 08:53:31 am

>Hollow Knight is quite easy to get around in

You and I had very different experiences.

When I said I was the most directionally challenged being in existence, you may have reasonably expected that I was exaggerating, but I'm like Zoro from One Piece. I could get lost in a straight hallway.

I choose to blame that for why I eventually got frustrated and quit Hollow Knight, because the music and atmosphere and combat and setting and animation and movement and character design were all exquisite. But I was lost all the time.

I found myself constantly backtracking, checking the maps constantly, looking for clues, and still ending up just wandering aimlessly and hoping to run across the next area. I started looking up guides and walkthroughs to try and pinpoint where I was and still couldn't do it.

So I gave up.

Haven't tried S&S, though!

2/28/2020 06:39:10 pm

Have you ever played The Last of Us?

3/9/2020 08:50:11 am

I have, and maybe I should have played it sooner after release, because I found that it didn't live up to the hype.

The gameplay felt like an annoyance to lengthen the time between story moments, and the story struck me as a pretty standard zombie apocalypse story, which has never been my cup of tea.

Granted, it had strong characterization of the main two characters, but I wasn't really invested in them or rooting for them.

Full confession: I played for probably half the game and then I stopped because I was bored.

A lot of people have told me that the ending is heart-wrenching and that I would enjoy the story and the characters a lot more if I just played to the end, but I'm of the opinion that if I'm not having fun, I'm not going to continue not having fun for the sake of it maybe becoming fun later.

I gave it a good, solid try, and I just don't think it was for me.

Sam

2/28/2020 06:44:43 pm

Hi Will,

So do you like visual novels Will? I've been drawing content for a fantasy-themed visual novel, but I've been having trouble getting the story together. I know you're probably super busy with your own books, but maybe someday you could write a story and have somebody illustrate and code to turn it into a visual novel (it honestly doesn't even take that much code, even for the coding-heavy toolkits).

3/9/2020 09:22:35 am

I've considered that!

I really enjoy the visual novel format and there are some great ones out there, and also it's basically the only sort of game that I could make by myself.

(Discounting the art and music assets, which I would of course hire out.)

Chris

3/10/2020 12:41:54 pm

Speaking of visuals, I also believe Cradle would make one hell of an animated series. Though, its unlikely.

James

2/28/2020 09:04:53 pm

A lot of excellent choices. I didn't know you streamed sometimes. What platform do you stream on?

2/29/2020 08:10:15 pm

Only book-related streams. He streamed playing Subnautica for Underlord and basically talked about his books while playing. Pat Rothfuss does the same thing with the same game. Well, not for releases, because it doesn't seem to be releasing anything, but he does the same thing.

Wraith link

3/2/2020 06:31:41 am

If you’re into FPS games i cannot recommend a game more than Titanfall 2. It’s got an awesome campaign and a brilliant multiplayer. Do check it out.

3/9/2020 09:25:51 am

I'm really not. My FPS skills are down there with my navigational skills.

I played a lot of Halo 2 and Overwatch. Halo 2 I only stopped because Halo 3 came out, and I never got any good at that one or any subsequent games in the franchise (though I did boycott Halo 5 because of a lack of local multiplayer, the only reason I played Halo in the first place).

Overwatch I enjoyed, but I was always held back because my actual shooter mechanics are absolute crap. You might as well hand my mouse to a confused orangutan.

My most-played heroes were Reinhardt, Winston, Lucio, and Mercy. The pattern being that none of them have to aim and shoot.

I mean, I guess Lucio does, but if I sucked at that part it didn't matter.

Sword Immortal Darknorth

3/2/2020 04:15:18 pm

My favorite game genre is RTS, though there haven't really been any good ones this decade. Sadly, the RTS genre has been gutted by the fact that there's so many new games all the time these days and RTS' take so long to learn to play.

Plus RTS AI's absolutely stomp most players. It's kinda funny when you compare RTS bots and FPS bots.

3/9/2020 09:37:25 am

I've never been much of an RTS player.

When I'm playing a strategy game or a competitive PVP game, I want some time to think. Playing an FPS is more like AAAAAHHHH WHY WON'T MY FINGERS MOVE FASTER OH NO I WASTED HALF A SECOND NOW I MIGHT AS WELL GIVE UP.

Stresses me out too much.

3/9/2020 09:37:47 am

*RTS

manty05

3/3/2020 08:05:48 pm

Hi
Will have you ever been contacted by authors wanting to make a willverse anthology?

3/9/2020 08:44:46 am

I have not! I've had people wondering if I would license out Cradle as a universe for other authors to write in, but I've never been contacted by anyone wanting to make or participate in an anthology.

off topic

3/9/2020 11:10:27 pm

Will, before picking up the cradle series over a year ago I hadn't read for my own enjoyment in over 10 years. since then I have devoured upwards of a hundred books on amazon unlimited and I had to thank you.

3/9/2020 11:18:42 pm

ps: also enjoyed travellers gate and have come back to cradle multiple times. I would love to read more about Lindons sister. we got a little teaser but I hope to find out more! cheers

3/11/2020 10:54:11 am

That's awesome to hear! If you're having fun reading then I'm happy!

(There will definitely be more Kelsa and Sacred Valley in the next book, don't worry.)

Ian Pape

3/10/2020 02:33:33 pm

If it hasn't come across your radar yet, check out Persona 5 for PS3/4 (new version named P5: Royal coming soon). It's a more traditional JRPG mechanically, but what sets it apart from the genre is the subject matter, the characters, the story and the visual design. The visual design is fantastic. One of the best I've ever seen in 30 years of playing games. It leaps off the screen at you. That lured me in, but what kept me hooked were the characters and story. Rather than orcs and goblins, you're fighting much more contemporary monsters; the sexually and physically abusive high school gym teacher, the violent loan shark, or more abstractly the crippling depression/anxiety making one character a hermit. And you're fighting them in an alternate reality constructed from their "heart" (mind/soul/spirit, something or other). When you defeat them in the alterverse, they confess their crimes publicly in the real world, leading to fascinating consequences. And you've got to do all this undercover, while continuing to be a high school student, balancing justice with your own needs and staying out of jail. Fantastic game, I really hope we see more like it in the future.

3/11/2020 10:55:34 am

I bought P5 when it came out and then just...never got around to it. I think I played like an hour.

I didn't drop it because I didn't like it or wasn't interested, it just kind of fell between the cracks. Now I'm waiting for P5: Royal as an excuse to dive in to the whole thing.

Brian S

3/11/2020 09:20:53 am

Skrim? It takes a few dozen hours of game play, but eventually, you figure out that Bethesda thinks everyone is a dog so they send you out the fetch, then once you get back, they tell you to fetch again, and again, and again. It's more than a little insuting if you think about it, plus it makes me want to scratch behind my ears....

3/11/2020 10:52:06 am

>It's more than a little insulting

I mean...no, not really.

Quests being clear, achievable objectives that you go achieve and then return for a reward is basically what quests usually are. If you're not into that gameplay loop, then you're probably not into most open-world RPGs.

The game isn't commanding me to do anything, it's offering me an activity to continue with if I find it fun. As long as I do, I can keep playing. If I don't, I can stop. I'm not sure what's insulting about that unless you take offense at the concept of playing a game.

If my other comments on this page illustrate anything, it's that I have absolutely no problem stopping a game if I'm not having fun. I wouldn't have played Skyrim for the hundreds of hours I have if I didn't enjoy my time with it.

3/11/2020 07:34:14 pm

I'm just glad that the books you write have more meat to them than a Bethesda game.If you really like fetch quests, you should play Fallout 4. Preston Garvey will be your all time hero.

Jordan

3/12/2020 02:29:07 am

I love Terraria, currently have 262 hours on record, the devs have been great in adding content and keeping the game fresh, and ther's always something fun to do.

PumpkinVision

3/13/2020 06:20:56 am

Given your top 3 of Minecraft, Terraria, and Subnautica, you might enjoy Factorio. It's similar to Subnautica in particular with the tech tree of craftable items. The goal is to automate the production you need to craft a rocket to escape the planet onto which you've crashed.

The two main attractions for myself are the puzzle solving (arranging assemblers to craft what you need, snaking transport belts around, balancing resources) and making the factory look nice (and so the game has that Minecraft artistic aspect).

Orphiex

3/24/2020 09:20:46 pm

Subnautica. YES. SUBNAUTICA. So very much looking forward to the day that Below Zero is complete. And same on Stardew Valley.

You know what's been eating my life recently? Satisfactory. Huge mass production EVERYTHING. Although I don't have anything as magnificent as those 200+ hour megafactories, but I'm working on it.

Teemo

4/5/2020 09:57:22 am

Speaking of Games, it’s been my dream for a while to have a cradle video game. I’m sure that would be very difficult to make happen but you should think about it

4/27/2020 06:01:02 am

I love how videogames bring people together.
Despite the, what I'm certain is, decent age gap, nearly all of these are on my list as well(not a souls person, and I never got a switch).

Keep on gaming. It's a great thing for these trying times.
Also, a server for MC based on any of your worlds would be wild.
Also, also, have you tried TFT? I'm not have on base league, but I love TFT

5/8/2020 01:41:47 am

Hi Will! First of all thank you for blessing the world with your various series, all of which except EE I have read multiple times and used to procrastinate on countless assignments. Secondly, I have some games I would like to suggest in no particular order :D

1. Journey
This game is a simple yet beautiful masterpiece that literally cured my quarantine depression for the 4 hours it took me to beat it. Its not a long time investment, just a beautiful piece of art that I think you would really enjoy.
2. Spiral Knights
This one was a big part of my childhood and its very dungeon-crawly in an adorable mechanized knight kind of way.
3. Nioh 2
This one might be a bit of a stretch given what I've read on the other posts, but imagine Dark Souls set in Japan with a beautifully fleshed-out world and array of painstakingly illustrated demons for you to fight and conquer. Your gameplay is entirely based on your style as you have 9 different weapon types and numerous choices within those types along with assorted skill trees. This game is a masterpiece, and I'd highly recommend it at the risk of me going insane waiting for Cradle 8 as you pour your life into Nioh 2 :)

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4/11/2025 11:05:42 pm

Thanks a lot for your kind words! Really glad the post resonated with you. Gambling should always be about enjoyment, and it’s great to hear you value the importance of responsible play. Knowing the games and setting limits truly helps keep the experience fun and stress-free. Appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts—more content coming soon!

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.