The world of modern video games opens up unlimited possibilities for a person. In it you can become both the greatest villain and the popularly beloved hero, learn any profession and even transform into an animal.
But what games can give gamers maximum enjoyment, and are worthy of spending their valuable time on them? The Guardian answered this question by posting a list of the greatest games of the 21st century. The first ten we present to your attention.
10. Bloodborne (2015)
Genre: Action / RPG
Platform: PlayStation 4
This gloomy Victorian-Gothic game begins in the dilapidated city of Yarnam, whose inhabitants were struck by a disease that turns people into monsters. The player, acting as a monster hunter, has to figure out the bloody web of magic and intrigue that has entangled the city and its inhabitants.
The best part of Bloodborne according to player reviews is the design of game locations, well-developed characters and dynamic fights.
9. BioShock (2007)
Genre: first person shooter
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, MacOS
Created in the form of a doomed underwater utopia, BioShock is partly a shooter, partly a role-playing game, and partly a fable of morality that developers convey to players through the study of the secrets and reasons for the fall of the city of Delight.
Famous for its huge bosses, genetic modifications, Art Deco architecture and the rethinking of the ideas of the philosopher and writer Ayn Rand, the game is still one of the most talked about and popular.
8. Portal 2 (2011)
Genre: puzzle
Platform: Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Linux, MacOS
Based on the solid foundation of its predecessor, the second part of Portal also adds a cooperative mode in addition to a fascinating story and ingenious physical puzzles.
Here, the Portal Nature Research Laboratory is a gigantic, almost Gothic, design, with fancy test cameras and robotic production lines filled with light bridges and Franken turrets.
7. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
Genre: first person shooter
Platform: Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox, Xbox One, MacOS
One of the best shooters about the alien war and humanity. When playing Halo, especially at a level of legendary complexity, you will be surprised how quickly these swivel and group-preferred Covenants can get you crazy.
Halo spawned the now-very-popular space-shooter universe, and this is also the first game adapted for a game console at a time when the idea of a first-person shooter on the console was ridiculous. She is ahead of her time and deserves to take a place in the list of the best video games of the XXI century.
6. Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
Genre: open world action-adventure
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC (Windows)
For the first time in the history of the Grand Theft Auto series, players were immediately presented with three main characters: a retired bank robber whose family hates him, a young man trying to avoid a seemingly predetermined criminal life, and a mentally unstable ex-pilot. Each of them had unique abilities.
You could switch between these characters at any time (for the most part), and besides they were the satirical personification of the modern USA.
Another unique feature of Grand Theft Auto V was the animals with which it was possible to interact (train, play, etc.).
5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
Genre: action / RPG
Platform: Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Not a single list of the most popular games of the 21st century can do without mentioning The Witcher, which has become a real triumph of CD Projekt RED studio. And Geralt of Rivia is one of the cult heroes of video games of all time.
Many games offer a superficial choice between good and evil, but The Witcher shows what happens when you swim through the waves of history and politics that are beyond your control. Geralt of Rivia is not a hero; he is just an outcast living in turbulent times. It turns out that many interesting and dangerous adventures are easy to find, even if you are not concerned about the goal of saving the world.
4. Half-Life 2 (2004)
Genre: first person shooter
Platform: PC (Windows, Linux, macOS), Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, SHIELD Portable
Among the good video games, there are plenty of stories about alien invasion, but Half-Life 2 makes the whole concept seem fresh and scary. In the second part, which takes place several years after the original story, Gordon Freeman wakes up to find the Earth almost completely subjugated by the Alliance forces, with small foci of Resistance.
Realistic physics, an unprecedented level of interaction with the environment and the famous gravitational weapon make this game a unique experience that is interesting even in 2019. In the world of Half-Life 2, you can really hate enemies and live with interest every moment.
3. Dark Souls (2011)
Genre: action / RPG with open world
Platform: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows
Plunging you into an endless cycle of death and rebirth in a dark medieval world, Dark Souls allows its dark fantasy to rush forward while you fight and fight for survival (sounds ambiguous, given that you have to play for the undead).
Some players accused the game of excessive complexity, while others liked this, because the harder the battle, the more pleasant the victory. But almost everyone liked the deep elaboration of the game world, its visual component and an interesting combat system.
2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
Genre: action / RPG with open world
Platform: Wii U, Nintendo Switch
The game from the cult series Legend of Zelda is not like its predecessors. Players are now allowed to roam the non-linear open world, paving the way for a real adventure.
Breath of the Wild counts on your curiosity, intelligence and ingenuity, providing you with thousands of ways to use them to fight a beast named Ganon Disaster.
This is the first game in the series in which, in addition to Japanese and English voice acting, a Russian also appeared.
In June 2019, Nintendo announced the continuation of the game, so that soon we will continue the adventures of Link and Zelda.
1. Minecraft (2009)
Genre: sandbox
Platform: Windows, Xbox 360, Android, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, Windows Phone
The greatest game of the 21st century is based on the idea of an advanced Lego-like design game. In 2009, news of this unusual block simulation quickly spread to gaming forums for the PC. And a community of enthusiasts began to gather around the project, downloading a version developed by Swedish programmer Marcus Persson, but adding their own rules and graphics.
From the very beginning, the Minecraft project was a labor of love shared between the creator and the fans. By the time it was released on PC in November 2011, Minecraft already had 10 million registered players.
Later there were porting from PC to Xbox, PlayStation and even smartphones, which led to the emergence of a new audience.
A vital element of Minecraft's success and importance was a dozen “under one roof” experiences. It is about creating complex models, as well as mining and resource management. Participants can create structures alone or join friends for creative online collaboration.
Using redstone mechanics, which allows objects in the Minecraft world to receive electrical power, some fans began to create complex machines, including working calculators. Others built scale models of the Enterprise ship from Star Trek, the Hogwarts School, the British Museum, and other famous fictional and real objects.
Minecraft is now more than a game.
- For people with autism, servers have been created that provide vital tools for meeting and communicating with other people.
- Hundreds of schools around the world use the Minecraft edition of educational institutions to teach physics, geology, electronics and other sciences.
- Minecraft has been vital to the growing popularity of celebrities on YouTube. Names like StampyCat and DanTDM are familiar to millions.
And this is not a complete list of areas to which Minecraft has spread its influence. Game manufacturers sincerely believe that video games, like literature, film and art, can change lives. And this game is a clear confirmation of this.
