1998 was banging. Definitely a 10/10 year. - StarCraft, Half Life, Banjo Kazooi, Baldurs Gate, Fallout 2, Oddworld: Abes Exodous, Ocarina of Time, Tekken and more. - StarCraft is what seals the deal, I still play it today.

But 2007 was also a banging 10/10. - Halo 3, Bioshock, Portal, Assassins Creed, Mass Effect, Crysis, Uncharted, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Supreme Commander, Gears of War, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Well, it depends. Are we talking commercially? Critically? Because if it's critically, it's hard to argue that the industry didn't peak with the PS2 gen. Back in those days, the NES-through-PS2 days, we got downright masterpieces, multiple times a year. Games that changed the way we thought of games. And they were complete, all on cart/disc, and with no DLC, patches to speak of, and fully-tested... it was insane.

So if that is what we're going by, I will have to disagree entirely. The peak of the industry is long behind us. What we're seeing now is barely a shell of its former self.

Yeah, somehow I knew '98 would be your year. 2007's a great year, I'll add in the Orange box bringing Half Life 2 and the episodes to console and some really underrated games life Def Jam, The Darkness and Heavenly sword. Indeed it was a 10/10 year. Yet so few enjoyed it that actual year as people hadn't made the jump in masses from the 8th gen yet, there was a brief period back then when I'd skip school to play Modern Warfare or Heavenly Sword or end a day "sick" and nearly lost the part time job that allowed me to buy the ps3 and a HDTV in the first place. As good as 2005 was, I think as soon as the ps3 was released in 2007 and into 2008 was the best stretch of that decade even though stuff like Uncharted weren't actually all that great in hindsight as there sequels will show. 

2024 is underrated going by this....

Metaphor ReFantazio, Balatro, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Persona 3 - Reload , Persona 4 - Golden, Slay the Princess, Black Myth: Wukong, POE2 EA, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes , Unicorn Overlord, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, .... ect ect.

There has been tons of great games this year.

2022 was far better than 2023 for me. 2025 seems like a drought aside from Doom and NG4. 2019 is one of my favorite recent years. 2024 was good. 2020 fucking sucked balls.

...Stellar Blad, Astrobot, Hades 2, Erd Tree, He'll Blade 2, The Final Shape, Indiana Jones. Hundred Heros, Animal Well... plus many more that are under the surface hidden gems that got over shadowed, Mouth Washing as example. 

November 2004 was probably the best -month- in gaming with bangers like: Counter-Strike: Source, Killzone, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Jak 3, Need For Speed: Underground 2, Metroid Prime 2, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Spider-Man 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and World of Warcraft... And actual more.

Two of my top 3 games of all-time came out in 2020 and 2021. So...

Excluding the Switch, this whole generation was nothing but pure disappointment for me. I would even call it the weakest generation I have experienced in my entire life, though I only started with the NES. It seems like only very few AAA games release compared to earlier days and they often lack quality and release as a buggy mess. Of course there are noteable exceptions. But that's about it. Maybe it's just me, but the whole PS5/Xbox/PC cosmos seems hollow at the moment. I miss substance, new ideas and disruptive energy.

Of course there are indie games and I'm having a blast with a lot of those. But that's different than the gaming I was used to in the past. Plus, I prefer to play indies on Switch, so If I shall exclude the Switch, I kinda also have to exclude those indie titles. =P

Since we're just discussing years now imma quote myself from a previous thread:

2023 and 2024 are also candidates for a spot by now. I don't think there's any pattern except that maybe every period of 5 years has two weaker ones.