Every year, we publish Game Informer’s game of the year awards, but alongside those awards, comes the list of every editor’s personal top 10 games of the year. Below you will find my personal top 10s starting with 2011, the year I started working here.

2011

  1. Portal 2
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  3. Dead Space 2
  4. Batman: Arkham City
  5. Infamous 2
  6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  7. Shadows of the Damned
  8. Ms. Splosion Man
  9. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
  10. Super Mario 3D Land

2012

  1. Fez
  2. Halo 4
  3. Journey
  4. Dishonored
  5. Sound Shapes
  6. Mass Effect 3
  7. Darksiders II
  8. Assassin’s Creed III
  9. 10000000
  10. Gravity Rush

2013

  1. Tomb Raider
  2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
  3. Grand Theft Auto V
  4. The Last of Us
  5. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
  6. Rayman Legends
  7. Super Mario 3D World
  8. Guacamelee
  9. BioShock Infinite
  10. Picross e2

2014

  1. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
  2. Infamous Second Son
  3. Super Smash Bros.
  4. Dark Souls II
  5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
  6. Mario Kart 8
  7. Far Cry 4
  8. Sunset Overdrive
  9. South Park: The Stick of Truth
  10. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

2015

  1. Batman: Arkham Knight
  2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
  3. Rise of the Tomb Raider
  4. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D
  5. You Must Build a Boat
  6. Ori and the Blind Forest
  7. Broken Age
  8. Until Dawn
  9. Just Cause 3
  10. Yoshi’s Woolly World

2016

  1. Inside
  2. Hyper Light Drifter
  3. Pokémon Go
  4. The Last Guardian
  5. Picross 3D Round 2
  6. Titanfall 2
  7. Dark Souls III
  8. The Witness
  9. Final Fantasy XV
  10. Overwatch

2017

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  2. Super Mario Odyssey
  3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
  4. Metroid: Samus Returns
  5. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
  6. Horizon Zero Dawn
  7. Hollow Knight
  8. What Remains of Edith Finch
  9. Heat Signature
  10. Little Nightmares

2018

  1. Red Dead Redemption II
  2. God of War
  3. Spider-Man
  4. Iconoclasts
  5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  6. Shadow of the Colossus
  7. Beat Saber
  8. Astro Bot Rescue Mission
  9. Mega Man 11
  10. Minit