Pixels of the Past - Chapter 5: Games I Loved in the 2010s

A warm, memoir-style chapter exploring the Windows PC games, hardware changes and digital-download shift that shaped one gamer’s 2010s — from Diablo III to The Witcher 3 and more.

PC Games of the 2010s:
This is a long-form, nostalgia-rich digital chapter about the decade when PC gaming changed forever. Boxed games faded away, Steam and GOG became the default way to build a library, Windows moved decisively into the 64-bit era, and open-world adventures grew large enough to swallow hundreds of hours.

Written from a personal British PC gamer’s perspective, this chapter blends memoir, technology commentary and affectionate game retrospectives. It looks back at the author’s own 2010s: moving deeper into digital distribution, upgrading an ageing custom gaming PC rather than replacing it, becoming more selective about what to play, and finding a handful of games that were worth hundreds of hours of attention.

This chapter covers the changing technology and culture around PC gaming before diving into detailed reflections on favourite Windows games of the decade. It is not a conventional review guide or rankings list. Instead, it is a reflective account of why certain games mattered, what they felt like to play, and how they fitted into the author’s life at the time.

What’s Inside:
• A personal introduction to life, technology and entertainment in the 2010s.
• Reflections on smartphones, streaming services and the always-online decade.
• A look at the decline of boxed PC games and the rise of Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store and digital libraries.
• Discussion of 64-bit Windows gaming, CPU and GPU changes, SSD upgrades and the author’s long-serving custom PC.
• Detailed memoir-style essays on eight favourite Windows games from the decade. These include XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Fallout 4 and BATTLETECH.
• A dedicated honourable mention for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition.
• A concluding reflection on gaming backlogs, ageing as a gamer and why favourite games stay with us.

Who This Is For:
• PC gamers who grew up with Windows gaming and remember the shift from discs to digital downloads.
• Readers who enjoy reflective gaming memoirs rather than short-form reviews.
• Fans of open-world RPGs, turn-based tactics, strategy games and long-lived PC favourites.
• Anyone who has lost hundreds of hours to Skyrim, Diablo III, Fallout 4, The Witcher 3 or BATTLETECH.
• Retro and nostalgia readers interested in how personal gaming habits change with age, work and technology.
• Followers of the wider Pixels of the Past project who want the final chapter in the series.

Why You Might Enjoy It:
If you enjoy reading about games as lived experience — not just graphics, mechanics and scores — this chapter is for you. It captures the feeling of returning to favourite worlds, hesitating over new hardware purchases, building a dangerously large digital backlog, and discovering that a handful of games can define an entire decade of personal play.

The writing is personal, humorous and gently opinionated, with enough technical context to appeal to long-time PC players while remaining accessible to readers who simply enjoy thoughtful gaming nostalgia.

About the Series:
Pixels of the Past is a five‑part journey through four decades of gaming history, tracing the author’s life from early home computers to the golden age of PC gaming.

Each chapter blends personal reflection with cultural and technological insight, exploring the games, hardware and moments that quietly shaped a generation.

Together, the series offers a nostalgic, narrative‑driven look at how gaming evolved — and how those eras left their mark on the author.