15 Most Important Video Games Of The Decade (So Far)

5. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor gets a mention because its phenomenal Nemesis mode seems to have been forgotten about already - most likely because the game was released in the barren wasteland of glitches and disappointment that was 2014. The feature itself was deemed too complex and intricate to even be included on the older generation versions of the game, consisting of an interweaving plethora of orcs, all of which could be influenced in various ways to build your own army. You'd do this by turning some to your side, branding and convincing others to fight higher-ups and claim their positions, and just remixing the world as and when you saw fit. In addition, any time you died, your killer would be upgraded, making that your main 'nemesis' to track down and exact revenge. The combination of this constantly-changing mix of allegiance and vengeance was incredible, and elevated Monolith's otherwise basic Assassin's Creed-lite release into far greater territory. At the time, many critics thought everybody and their digital granny would start iterating on the system, seeing similar nemesis-like modes in every game under the sun, but... nope! The one truly original and innovative feature of the new generation has potentially been forgotten about - but that doesn't make its existence any less awesome.
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.