We condense ten years of immersive entertainment into this small space

With digital experiences going mobile in India, gaming companies finally started optimising for this growing majority audience. But the mainstream industry in the 2010s saw some of the biggest developments, with 2019 being the year developments were implemented on a larger scale.

Nintendo Switch | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Crank up the consoles

Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launched neck-and-neck; we even got a mid-cycle refresh in the form of the faster 4K-ready Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro, which look gorgeous in HDR and 4K TVs that are more affordable now. In a classic David and Goliath move, Nintendo dropped the Switch, a peppy console that could be docked as well as taken with you. We cannot wait to see what 2020 has in store for the next console war.

Games as a Service

Also known as GaaS, these were titles — Diablo III, Destiny, The Division, Overwatch — which provided lengthy seasons, competitive and festive events, all while the game was balanced in real time. This was a strategic tactic that made sure players would have to grind for new elite weaponry and loot. While there were hits, there were misses too; we’re looking at you, Anthem and Fallout 76.

Battle Royale

This landmark manifested post-2015. We cannot forget games like ARMA and Battlefield series as precursors to this hundred-player-in-a-map extravaganza — from its humble beginnings as a mod, this genre spawned PUBG and Fortnite, the latter becoming one of the biggest gaming and pop culture sensations of the era.

Death Stranding | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Open Worlds evolve

This trend took off in the 2010s with Sleeping Dogs, Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto V that brought the detail and life to the world — with No Man’s Sky and Outer Wilds conquering space. The innovation continued on with The Witcher 3 — one of the most popular games of the decade — whose innovative formula made it into Assassin’s Creed: Origins and Odyssey, as well as Horizon Zero Dawn and Final Fantasy V. The decade ends strong with Death Stranding and Red Dead Redemption 2, both masterpieces with innovative directions.

A renaissance for RPGs

One of the most decorated RPGs this year let you play as a hard-boiled detective focused on conversations in the gritty Disco Elysium. Divinity: Original Sin and The Outer Worlds brought the CRPG back from the dead. With detailed conversation trees and intriguing characters. Let’s not forget Mass Effect 2 and 3 that ignited this decade with space faring romance. While Indie games consistently brought us delightful games like Undertale and Bastion.

Cinematic action

As technology got better, so did motion capture performances, resulting in a groundswell of interactive movies: The Last of Us, God of War, Titanfall 2, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Death Stranding, Nier: Automata and many more. Critics touted these as visual extravaganzas on par with summer blockbusters. Honourable mention goes to horror games Resident Evil 7, P.T. and The Evil Within.

Valve Index | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

VR; teased but never delivered

The decade started off with ‘Virtual Reality fever’; gamers even had dreams of it. Now, Google has delivered with a low-cost VR that works with Cardboard VR.

Oculus Rift, HTC Vive are still ‘in development’ selling off each iteration of development kits to consumers. Valve finally ended the VR decade on a high note announcing that the next Half-Life game will be in VR... hopefully that will be the killer app the technology sorely needs.