My Favourite Videogame Of Every Year

As 2023 was coming to an end, I started reflecting on what my favourite videogame of the year was … and that got me wondering what my other favourite games in each year was!

I’ll be choosing my personal favourites rather than the popular choice (although I’m sure there’s some overlap), and I’ll be starting with 2001 as that’s the year I was born. Let’s get to it!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

2001 – Halo: Combat Evolved

The library of games I’ve played in the early 2000’s is a little slim, but 2001 got off to a strong start – I almost put “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” in this slot for its legendary status alone.

But while the first Ace Attorney has its flaws, the original “Halo: Combat Evolved” still remains a pivotal title in the action genre. It was a shooter like no other, and it’s still a blast to play over 20 years later.

2002 – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I’ll be real with you all … I don’t think I’ve played a single game from 2002. I’m racking my brain and reading through the lists but drawing a blank. Instead of skipping the year entirely, I opted to go with the game that looked the most fun to play.

The contenders were “Super Mario Sunshine” and “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker”, and I decided to go with the latter – Sunshine looks a bit janky, whereas Wind Waker still looks spectacular today.

2003 – Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2003, like 2002 before it, is a little thin in the “games I’ve actually played” department. Once again I’m looking through all the lists and not recognising most of the entries.

One game I do have vague memories of, however, was “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”. It was a cracking action / adventure game (one of the very first I ever played, actually) with some awesome time-bending and platforming mechanics.

2004 – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials & Tribulations

From 2004 onwards, we start to see some really excellent games – both “Halo 2” and “Half-Life 2” had a good shout in this year, but only one game was ever going to be my favourite.

“Trials & Tribulations” is my favourite entry in easily one of my favourite franchises. All five cases were a blast to play in their own right, and the finale “Bridge to the Turnabout” provided one of the best, most climactic, most satisfying gaming experiences I’ve ever had.

2005 – Civilization IV

I know for a fact I’ve picked the unpopular choice for 2005. Both “Resident Evil 4” and “Shadow of the Colossus” came out this year, but I’m selecting my favourite game, not the critical darling.

I have no idea if “Civilization IV” is one of the popular titles in the Civ series, but it’s definitely the one I played most. The tactics of worldwide prosperity and domination struck a chord with me at the time, and I spent many an evening trying to get that one extra turn before doing homework.

2006 – Wii Sports

Other games may have released in 2006, but they’re not worth mentioning. The winner was a shoe-in this time around.

“Wii Sports” was one of those phenomena that you had to be there for. Everyone played this game at one point, and everyone loved it more than their own family.

2007 – Super Mario Galaxy

“Halo 3” – my first adventure with Master Chief – came out in 2007, so that’s neat. But yet again the real winner was never in doubt.

“Super Mario Galaxy” was, and continues to be, one of my most magical gaming experiences ever. I’m always in awe of the developers’ endless creativity whenever I boot it up, and the sheer array of platforming and galaxies to explore was second-to-none.

2008 – Persona 4

I’m cheating a little bit in this category. “GTA IV”, “Mario Kart Wii” and “Rainbow Six Vegas 2” were all fun, but I wanted to give this entry to a true all-timer … even if that meant bending the rules.

I’ll never forget my first experience with Persona 4 (it was actually P4 Golden that I played, released in 2012, but oh well) – I had no idea what to expect at first, but after warming to it I fell head-over-heels with its charming world, combat and characters. Probably my biggest gaming surprise of all time.

2009 – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2009 was a great year for direct sequels – “Assassin’s Creed 2” is still widely beloved today as a huge step forwards for the franchise, and “Left 4 Dead 2” is some of the most fun you can have if you fancy a bit of zombie-killing.

But “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” changed the game. People weren’t used to the level of motion capture and cinematic action that Naughty Dog provided, and many creatives – including J. J. Abrams – cite the train escape as an opening done right.

2010 – Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

“Super Mario Galaxy 2” nearly claimed 2010’s spot for being yet another fantastic Nintendo entry, and I have a huge nostalgic love for “Halo: Reach” as it was my first Halo game.

Assassin’s Creed is a top three franchise for me, and “Brotherhood” was its magnum opus for a time. It was my first AC experience, and I’ll never forget leaping across the rooftops of Rome as Master Assassin Ezio with my brotherhood by my side.

2011 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Whenever the question is asked of “the best year in gaming”, I always go back to 2011 – “Portal 2”, “Arkham City” and especially “Minecraft” are classics that are still renowned today, and yet there’s another GOATed title that I prefer.

“The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” blew my young mind when I first played it. I had never experienced such an expansive, living fantasy world, and the sandbox nature of the Dragonborn’s quest makes it a blast to replay over and over again.

2012 – FIFA 13

Each year is starting to pump out some absolute bangers – “Far Cry 3” and “Borderlands 2” were great action titles, “The Walking Dead” was the first narrative to really affect me, and I almost gave this spot to “Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair” for how brazenly fun it is.

In the end, I decided to shout-out a franchise near and dear to my heart. “FIFA 13” (and 14 the year after) were the peak of EA Sports’ footballing output, and I can’t begin to tell you how enjoyable Career Mode, Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs were.

2013 – Grand Theft Auto V

There were three games that stood head and shoulders above competition in 2013 – “The Last Of Us” still hasn’t been topped in terms of acting performance and narratives in gaming, and “Black Flag” is probably my favourite entry in the Assassin’s Creed series at the time of writing.

With “GTA VI” looming in 2025, it still blows my mind how incredible the fifth game is. The singleplayer was one of my favourite campaigns I’ve played, and the multiplayer still continues to provide entertainment over a decade later.

2014 – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Weirdly, a lot of the best games of 2014 didn’t actually come from the major gaming studios – “The Evil Within” was a fun horror romp, “The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth” continues to throw new things at me, and “Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments” remains the definitive Conan Doyle experience.

The biggest surprise of the year was easily “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor”, an unassuming title set in the Lord of the Rings universe that nobody expected to be as good as it was. The main campaign was a little weak, but the ground-breaking Nemesis System more than made up for it.

2015 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I really liked “Batman: Arkham Knight”, despite some common criticism, and “Rocket League” is my go-to competitive game. Unfortunately for them, my favourite game of all time released in the same year.

Geralt of Rivia’s tale of locating Ciri whilst the Wild Hunt pursues her is probably the most enthralled I’ve ever been with a game’s story, and the varied combat, creature design and expansive open world are the best I’ve had the pleasure of playing.

2016 – DOOM

A couple of phenomenal Indie titles released in 2016 – “Superhot” is one of the coolest things ever, and “Stardew Valley” is probably my favourite farming / slice-of-life sim of them all.

Before I played “DOOM” I wasn’t really into first-person shooters, and now I can’t play any other shooter again. Nothing else compares to the demon-slaying chaos of this 2016 reboot … and I’m still a little salty that “Overwatch” won Game Of The Year in its place

2017 – Middle-earth: Shadow of War

In a year with such illustrious entries as “Hollow Knight”, “Super Mario Odyssey” and even “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, I was surprised when another game beat strong competition to be my honest favourite.

“Shadow of War”, the direct sequel to my favourite game of 2014, improved upon its predecessor in every conceivable way. The story was much stronger, the worlds were much bigger and more detailed, and the Nemesis System makes replaying it so much fun even on your fifth go around.

2018 – Marvel’s Spider-Man

2018’s insane run of games doesn’t get talked about enough – “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey”, “Return of the Obra Dinn”, “Celeste” and “God of War” all had an equally excellent shout of winning overall.

I know the phrase “it really makes you feel like Spider-Man” gets thrown around a lot, but Insomniac’s superhero game nailed the assignment and then some. Web-slinging had never felt better, and the combat / exploration / general hero-ing were always a blast.

2019 – Persona 5 Royal

Some of my favourite games in recent memory released in 2019 – “Control” was absurdist perfection, “Resident Evil 2” was a fantastic horror experience, and “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” was a fanboy’s delight.

After playing “Persona 4 Golden” I waited eagerly for the fifth entry in the JRPG series to drop on PC, and my expectations couldn’t have been shattered any more. The dungeons were enhanced to perfection, the charming characters / soundtrack / world were all exemplary, and the story really touched my heart.

2020 – DOOM Eternal

2020 was another all-time great year for gaming. “Ori and the Will of the Wisps”, “Paradise Killer”, “Factorio”, “Immortals Fenyx Rising” (just let me have it) and “Cyberpunk 2077” came out this year. It was a toss-up between “Hades” and another for my absolute favourite, and for a time the hellish roguelike took the spot on this list until a last-minute change.

I know for a fact this isn’t the popular opinion, but “DOOM Eternal” was better than the 2016 reboot in every way. I appreciated the narrative they told, the world and collectables were expanded, and FPS shooter combat has now reached a new unsurpassable ceiling.

2021 – The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

After some incredible years for gaming in a row, and with a global pandemic raging the year before, it’s no wonder 2021 felt tame in comparison. “Resident Evil Village” was fun, and “The Forgotten City” was a cool mystery experience I suppose, but neither of them are Game Of The Year contenders.

Technically speaking, neither “The Great Ace Attorney” nor its sequel released in 2021, but the duology package “Chronicles” tells a cohesive 10-case story in its own right that blew me away. It truly feels like the bar has been raised for one of my all-time favourite videogame franchises.

2022 – Elden Ring

“Neon White” and “The Case of the Golden Idol” are two games I loved in 2022, but one game that should feel hard-done by is “God Of War: Ragnarok”. It had a good chance of winning since it looks awesome, but I haven’t actually played it yet!

That being said, Ragnarok would have a helluva hard time uprooting “Elden Ring” for the best of the year – it’s a massive open world Souls game that never loses its sense of worldbuilding and naturally-woven storytelling, and some of the locations and bosses were highlights of my gaming career.

2023 – Resident Evil 4

This might be the recency bias talking, but 2023 felt like the best year in gaming ever. “Tears of the Kingdom”, “Baldur’s Gate 3”, “Spider-Man 2”, “Super Mario Wonder”, “Dave the Diver”, “Alan Wake 2”, “Hogwarts Legacy” … and none of those were even my favourite!

I’ve become an adamant fanboy of the Resident Evil franchise, and the recent remake of the fourth entry is my new favourite. Leon and Ashely’s story is captivating through all of the excellent sixteen chapters, and the gun-toting / roundhouse-kicking gameplay was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.

Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: