Game of the Year 2020 Voting Thread (Voting Concluded, Results Coming Soon!)

[crowseye]

1) FFVII Remake

So some background, I've played original FFVII when I was pretty young but never finished it. I remember getting stuck on one boss the first time and another time my third disc broke. Despite that it was still one of my favourite games, and I'm pretty sure it was my first Final Fantasy. I can mainly just remember that sense of adventure and attachment to a world and cast of characters that felt very unique and special at that point in my life. However my favourite game ever is FFX and while I loved VII a lot it didn't really come close to it for me. In fact I didn't really see any scenario where any new game could ever reach the heights of my favourite 2 games in my mind especially with the nostalgia attached. FFVII Remake is the first time in 15-20 years where I now think those heights can be reached again for me and I can give it no better praise than that.

First of all the music in this game is just perfect in every way. Truly an incredible achievement and way beyond any expectations I had. From the main menu theme to the final credits there is such an incredible amount of variety and quality, in both the old and new music. Not since Lord of The Rings have I felt the music has so perfectly captured the essence of the property it's based on, and in FFVII Remake's case drives so many elements of the game to new heights. I still listen to it every single day.

Trying to recreate much loved characters for a new generation is always a difficult ask, most of the time it's really difficult to recapture that magic that made those characters so special to so many in the first place. Not only does FFVII Remake recapture that magic, it somehow improves on it, giving the characters more depth and complexity at this point of the story while retaining the humanity and decency that made us care about them in the first place.

The gameplay is a perfect blend of an action packed, blood pumping combat system while retaining the tactical complexity that I love about Final Fantasy. It's easily my favourite RPG battle system and I hope aspects of it set the standard for Final Fantasy and other RPG's going forward.

When you bring these aspects of the game together, whether its a quiet moment like walking across rooftops and getting to know the characters, with the incredible music in the background setting the tone, or one of the many sublime epic boss fights where the music perfectly evolves with the ebb and flow of the gameplay and combat, these are the moments, of which there are so many, that for me allow this game to reach highs I have never felt playing any other videogame.

The crazy thing for me is that the game isn't perfect by any means, combat could be improved in a number of ways, side quests are lacking, it can lag a bit in parts. That's what really makes me excited about the next part, the thought that they could surpass and improve on a game which is in so many ways a masterpiece in my eyes. If the rest of the parts reach the standards of the first one or even surpass it this remake could end up being my favourite game ever. It's the whole reason I've written this list and it really rekindled my love for videogames. I could talk a lot more about it but hopefully I've done it some small amount of justice in what I've written here. This game is really special to me and gave me that childlike sense of wonder and joy I never thought I'd get from videogames again.

2) Last Of Us - Part 2

Any other year this would be my game of the year easily, outside of my number 1 this year it's probably my favourite game since the original Last of Us in 2013. Truly next level in so many ways, the motion capture, graphics and animation on my original PS4 was just mind-blowing. This does wonders for the characters and provides a level of realism I personally haven't seen in any other game. You can see what they are going through just by their facial expressions, the actors do an amazing job bringing the characters to life both in voicework and motion capture. I was fully invested in all the characters, whether I liked them or not at any particular moment the performances always sold me. While I don't think the story is as perfectly structured as the original Last of Us I really admire its ambition and commitment to it's vision. Saying that it's still one of my favourite video game stories, just really brutal and emotional, sometimes difficult but it completely enraptured me the whole way through. Haven't even mentioned the gameplay yet, just phenomenal, takes the gameplay I loved from the Last of Us and improves on it in every way, the game was just a joy to play, the freedom of movement, the kick of the weapons, stealth kills, both when things went right and things went wrong, this is definitely one of the best games I've ever played in terms of game feel. Just an all around amazing package and easily up there with my favourite games ever.

3) COD: Warzone

Been playing this all year since it came out and its all the Call of Duty I need. Just so much fun when you play with a group of friends, like Among Us it was extra special this year in providing a nice social outlet each week to keep in touch with people. Has probably overtaken Apex as my favourite Battle Royale, I just love all the extra objectives and tasks you can do in between taking other teams down, really adds a nice variety to it. Some of the random temporary game modes they have in are great too, I really enjoyed the armoured truck one recently. For a free game it really is incredible how much enjoyment I have got and still get out of playing this.

4) Hades

Really not one I expected to be on here, never really enjoyed roguelikes that much, I just tried it out one day on a whim because of the hype, expecting to fall off quick. This game completely sucked me in though, the story, the gameplay and the characters. I just loved doing runs and trying out different weapons, was constantly amazed how the dialogue always changed and never repeated each time, even dying felt ok because I felt like I was progressing each time and getting to learn more about everyone and the story. Progressing against the bosses was an incredible feeling, I felt like I'd never beat the duo to begin with and beating them the first time was incredibly satisfying. Even better was the final boss, that moment when you think you've won and the music kicks in and things get hardcore was just such a hype moment. The music in Hades is really really great and I particularly adore the ending song too. It's just one of those games where everything comes together to create something truly special.


5) Among Us

Although it was a pain at time to get enough people together at times, when I did and everything was running smoothly it was magic. Turning people on one another, nudging them this way and that while stealthily killing everyone and getting away undetected was an absolute joy or figuring out who the imposter is before they can finish you off first is thrilling. Also just a great way to get a group of friends together and having a laugh felt extra special in times like these.


6) Astros Playroom

Pretty great for what at first you assume is going to be a tech demo. Allows you to appreciate all aspects of the dualsense which makes the game feel unique and special. I grew up with Playstation so was always a great moment when I recognised a game or a piece of hardware they were paying tribute to. Platforming was well done too and length was just right for me.

7) Fall Guys

Had a really fun time with this when it came out and playing it with friends was addicted for a few weeks. Was an amazing feeling getting that first win and after that fell off for the most part, although I do check in now and again.

1. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
3. [PS4] [Shooter] [Infinity Ward] Call of Duty: Warzone
4. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
5. [PC] [Party] [Innersloth] Among Us
6. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
7. [PS4] [Party] [Mediatonic] Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
   

 

[Cantona222]

1- Yakuza: Like a rdagon - A great RPG with an over the top story. Get ready for more than 10 hours of cutscenes.
2- Ghost of Tsusima - Thge gameplay is top notch. I keep looking for random encounters to try my new moves.
3- Resident Evil 3 - It is 70% as good as RE2 which says a lot.
4- Ori and the Will of the Wisps - One of the best Metroidvania game I played in the last 5 years.
5- Streets of Rage 4 - OPnline coop side scrolling beatem up at its best
6- Gears Tactics - When you combine Xcom and Gears you get this gem.
7- Tertris Effect Connected - More tetris is more fun.
8- Battletoads - It is a good enough beatem up.

1. [XSX] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
3. [XBO] [Survival Horror] [Capcom] Resident Evil 3 Remake
4. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
5. [XBO] [Beat 'em up] [DotEmu] Streets of Rage 4
6. [XBO] [Turn-based strategy] [Splash Damage] Gears Tactics
7. [XBO] [Beat 'em up] [Rare] Battletoads
8. [XSX] [Puzzle] [Monstars and Resonair] Tetris Effect: Connected
   

 

[Neiteio]

I didn't even read all of the posts on this page so I'm sure others are also great, but I really enjoyed reading your lists Andrew J and Neiteio

Click to shrink...

Thank you :)

 

[Cripshay]

1. Ghost of Tsushima: By far the best game of 2020 thanks to the great SP and fun MP.
2. Final Fantasy VII Remake: What's there to say? It's the remake of a legendary masterpiece. If it wasn't for GoT's great MP, FFVII:R would have won.
3. Demon's Souls Remake: Together with Bloodborne my favourite Soulsborne game. Bluepoint Games did such an amazing job here.
4. Sackboy: A Big Adventure: I thought Sackboy ABA would disappoint. But to my suprise it's really fun. Especially the co-op parts.
5. Collection of SaGa: Some of my favourite RPGs in one Collection. Awesome.
6. Trials of Mana: Another great remake (or remaster) of a Square-Enix classic. More awesomeness.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
2. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
4. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sumo Digital] Sackboy: A Big Adventure
5. [Switch] [RPG] [Square Enix] Collection of SaGa: Final Fantasy Legend
6. [Switch] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Trials of Mana
   

 

[Acquiescence]

1. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - It takes balls to radically change the formula in a long-established franchise, especially when you're making a mainline installment. It takes real talent to pull it off with aplomb. Doff of the cap to Nagoshi and his team for morphing Yakuza into a full-fledged JRPG and doing it in a seamless fashion.
2. Final Fantasy VII Remake - Would've been at the top of my list if Nomura didn't go full Nomura at the end. For the most part FFVIIR does a pitch-perfect job of updating a classic for a modern audience while still being respectful to the source material. I love my turn-based combat, but this is about as good as real-time combat is ever going to get in a JRPG. A shame the ending was so Nomura.
3. Sackboy: A Big Adventure - A return to form, if you consider it a LittleBigPlanet game. Gorgeous to look at, with a consistently-brilliant use of licensed music and sharp controls and level design. And unlike LBP3, completely bug free.
4. Demon's Souls - A fairly conservative remake that doesn't make any major changes to the original, but instead makes little changes and tweaks where they needed to be made, making for a smoother, more polished ride the second time around. I enjoyed this a lot more than the original.
5. The Last of Us: Part II - This was a 10 outta 10 for me until the whole protagonist switcheroo. Then the momentum slammed to a halt and the narrative became beset by notable padding and shoddy character motivation. I hated the person that wasn't Ellie and remained unconvinced at the game's attempts to humanise her. The last few hours turned it around and served as a saving grace though. And even though the story as a whole may have punched above its weight, you can't deny those top-tier stealth and combat mechanics. This is a game that plays as good as it looks.
6. Nioh 2 - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. I still prefer the first game, because at least that made some attempt at telling a compelling story, even if it wasn't entirely successful. Replacing William with a character creator screen was a mistake I feel, a mistake that was felt most during the more dramatic cutscenes when the main character would stand there emotionless, like silent protagonists are wont to do. But other than that, Nioh 2 excels at doing what it's predecessor did - being an excellent Souls rip-off.
7. Astro's Playroom - R.I.P. Japan Studio. This was a game made by people who you can tell actually give a shit about PlayStation's legacy, which is a rare thing at Sony these days. So many references and nods to other games, no matter how obscure, and they all brought a smile to my face. However fleeting, it was nice to see Robbit again.
8. Dreams - If I had more time I would've delved deep into the whole creation aspect, but alas. The main appeal of Dreams to me is every so often whiling away an hour or two just picking random 'games' or short films or whatever and seeing what kind of madness the community has conjured up. Some of it is genuinely impressive and much of it is crap, but the game often serves as a fascinating glimpse into the mind of the creators who've dedicated time to realising their own vision. I''ve had many laughs playing Dreams, intentional or otherwise.
9. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time - A joy for anyone who grew up smitten by the original trilogy on the PS1. An exercise in sadomasochism for anyone who strays outside of the main campaign and attempts any of the collectables. Why did they make this so unbearably hard for completionists?!
10. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - I felt that some characters and character-specific storylines were a lot more interesting than others, but the ultimate joy of 13 Sentinels is randomly picking a route and seeing where it goes and how it fits into the overarching (and very labyrinthine) timeline. This is a game that goes places. Maybe too many places. I mean it has literally every anime trope under the sun.

Honourable mentions go to Resident Evil 3, Sakura Wars and Fall Guys. Games I enjoyed but don't consider good enough for a top ten slot.
Ghost of Tsushima was my biggest gaming disappointment of the year.
A big mention to Kentucky Route Zero for being the worst thing to happen to me in 2020 besides Covid.

1. [PS4] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon
2. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sumo Digital] Sackboy: A Big Adventure
4. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
6. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Team Ninja] Nioh 2
7. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
8. [PS4] [Game Creation] [Media Molecule] Dreams
9. [PS4] [Platformer] [Toys for Bob] Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
10. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
    

 

[ThereAre4Lights]

1. The Last of Us Part II (PS4) - Nothing else came close in 2020. Naughty Dog is at their best here with story, characterization and gameplay improvements.
2. Resident Evil 3 Remake (XBO) - It's not quite as good as RE2 Remake, but it provided short bursts of thrills and pacing that rarely let up.
3. Tell Me Why (XBO) - After a somewhat disappointing Life is Strange 2, this actually felt more like a spiritual sequel to LiS1. Its sensitive portrayal of a trans character and their sibling's childhood issues hit me hard.
4. Astro's Playroom (PS5) - What could have been a neat tech demo turned out to be a perfect length showcase of the Dual Sense's new features. A shiny, polished presentation while being free with a new PS5, made for a great deal.
5. Journey to the Savage Planet (XBO) - I played this on Game Pass and it came out of nowhere for me. Interesting sci-fi story with varied gameplay tools and minihubs. Held back a bit by difficulty spikes and fetch quests towards the end.
6. Bugsnax (PS5) - I might have never played this had it not been on PS Plus. Don't let the name put you off, it's a weird and funny Saturday morning cartoon with darker undertones. Good LGBT representation too all-around.
7. Deliver Us the Moon (XBO) - Another Game Pass gem, this is sort of like Dead Space without the combat with a bit of the Gravity movie tension.
8. Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (PS5) - Ridiculously cheesy story and over-the-top gore.
9. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (XBO) - Still not quite up their Until Dawn standard, but this was an improvement over Man of Medan.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [XBO] [Survival Horror] [Capcom] Resident Evil 3 Remake
3. [XSX] [Adventure] [Dontnod Entertainment] Tell Me Why
4. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
5. [XBO] [Adventure] [Typhoon Studios] Journey to the Savage Planet
6. [PS5] [Adventure] [Young Horses] Bugsnax
7. [XBO] [Adventure] [KeokeN Interactive] Deliver us the Moon
8. [PS5] [Fighting] [NetherRealm Studios] Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
9. [XBO] [Interactive drama] [Supermassive Games] The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
   

 

[Normal]

1. Call of Duty: Warzone - Came out during the perfect time due to quarantine, and it was free to play and had cross play. It's been years since I was able to get all my friends together to play at the same time, had a lot of fun during lockdown just playing this pretty much all day. Brought me back to middle/high school days haha.

2. 13 Sentinels - Has the best story out of all the games I've played. Time travel shenanigans, don't want to say much more. But if you enjoy visual novels, pick it up.

3. Resident Evil 3 Remake - Just more RE goodness. It was short, but I still enjoyed my time with it and it didn't have any of the unnecessary padding that Remake 2 did.

4. Among Us - A casual mafia game that anyone could pick up and play, and it's free. Had bunch of fun gettin family and friends together to play it.

5. Cyberpunk 2077 - Didn't live up to the hype, but I enjoyed my time with it.

6. The Last of Us Part 2 - Better than the first game. While Ellie's story was kinda weak, Abby's makes up for it.

7. Final Fantasy VII Remake - Another game that couldn't live up to the hype, but I still enjoyed my time with it. I do hope they improve the battle system tho, too slow for my liking. Jesse is best girl.

8. Call of Duty: Cold War - Just fun CoD multiplayer. A step up from last year's Modern Warfare, but CW did get shafted by Warzone.

1. [PS4] [Shooter] [Infinity Ward] Call of Duty: Warzone
2. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
3. [PS4] [Survival Horror] [Capcom] Resident Evil 3 Remake
4. [Switch] [Party] [Innersloth] Among Us
5. [PS4] [Action RPG] [CD Projekt] Cyberpunk 2077
6. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
7. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
8. [PS4] [Shooter] [Treyarch] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
   

 

[Benzychenz]

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - A once in a lifetime kind of game, I've never played anything quite like it and probably never will. The journey was incredible from start to finish and everyone needs to experience this.
2. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Such a fantastic improvement over the original. Everything just came together wonderfully to create a stunning metroidvania and it is one of the best of the genre.
3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - There's not many games I can put 200+ hours into, but this was one of them. The crafting mechanics and being able to place items all over the island made this so much more addicting than previous entries. Just a shame the post release content has been so lacking or I'd still be playing it every day.
4. Moon - It's an old game but it has never been released in English until now, so I'm counting it as a 2020 release. This was really something special, and I wish we had more games like it. Puzzling together all the little things in the world, talking to all the characters, creating your own playlist, and the whole vibe of the game made it so memorable.
5. Sackboy: A Big Adventure - This was a really fun platformer, and I played the whole thing with my girlfriend. Just fun the whole way through with a bunch of cool mechanics.
6. Astro's Playroom - An incredible game, and it'd be way higher on my list if it was more than a tech demo. Here's hoping the Astro IP has a long and healthy life.
7. Demon's Souls - Bluepoint did a stunning job with this. It retains the perfect gameplay of the PS3 game, but doesn't run like shit. Playing this at a solid 60 fps with such beautiful crisp graphics and non existent load times was really something special.
8. Hades - A really fun roguelite. Still not my favourite genre but making unique builds each run is really fun and the story keeps you wanting to keep going.
9. Bugsnax - Super fun and somewhat reminiscent of Ape Escape. It's addicting figuring out how to capture each snack. Hopefully a sequel goes further with it and has more gadgets and more cunning ways to trap them all.
10. Paper Mario: The Origami King - This game did some really fun new things with the series. The battle system was genuinely unique, and the game was just a joy to play through from start to finish.

1. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
2. [Switch] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
3. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
4. [Switch] [RPG] [Onion Games] Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
5. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sumo Digital] Sackboy: A Big Adventure
6. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
7. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
8. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
9. [PS5] [Adventure] [Young Horses] Bugsnax
10. [Switch] [RPG] [Intelligent Systems] Paper Mario: The Origami King
    

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

#01: The Last of Us: Part 2
Still thinking about this game regularly. Deep emotional impact, the best Third-Person-Shooter/Stealth gameplay possible. The best graphics to date with amazing cinematography and animation work. It might even be my favourite game of all time by this point. Just a perfect experience spanning almost 30 hours. Already finished it twice.

#02: Half-Life: Alyx
If TLOU2 didn't release this year this would have been the easy GOTY choice. The immersion of this game is so far ahead of everything else that is available and it truly shows what VR is capable of. It's packed with awesome ideas, great level design, intense shootouts and scary parts. It's also great to return to one of my favourite franchises in this way after all these years.

#03: Hades
Not only the best rogue-lite but also the best top-down combat system of all time. It truly feels like a character action game. Awesome art style, nice characters and high replayability.

#04: Ghost of Tsushima
Sucker Punch took the Ubisoft formula and improved it in every thinkable way. Good story, great characters, great/tight battle system, mostly optional stealth, fun tools to play around with, thoughtful gear system, no Animus bullshit, fantastic graphics and art direction. This is how you make a great Assassin's Creed game.

#05: The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
A fully-fledged immersive sim in VR with some of the best VR melee to date. Thought out crafting mechanics, lots of possibilities to tackle problems and levels and a great atmosphere make this not only the best Walking Dead game but a real showcase for what is possible in VR.

#06: DOOM Eternal
My biggest problem with DOOM was the boring-ass level-design. It felt like an arena shooter. DOOM Eternal massively improved on that with some actual good level designs and thoughtfully implemented secrets and hidden upgrades. The new movement options and the grapple hook are fantastic as well. They still need to learn how to design fun boss fights and remove the marauders from the third game. Those broke the whole awesome flow of the battles.

#07: Star Wars: Squadrons
A dream coming true: A Star Wars starfighter game in VR. Great multiplayer and campaign, unfortunately, held back by some technical issues. Still tons of fun and a true experience if everything works as intended.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PC] [Shooter] [Valve] Half-Life: Alyx
3. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
4. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
5. [PC] [Survival Horror] [Skydance Interactive] The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
6. [PC] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
7. [PC] [Space combat] [Motive Studios] Star Wars: Squadrons
   

 

[WadiumArcadium]

1. The Last of Us Part II – I love the original game, so I was excited but nervous about a potential sequel. I needn't have worried. The story was harrowing but engrossing – embellishing the original without over reliance on it - and I soon found myself as invested in the new characters as I was in Joel and Ellie. I enjoyed the original game's combat more than most, but it's vastly improved here, with greater opportunities for stealth and the most satisfying gunplay in a Naughty Dog game thus far.
2. Ori and the Will of the Wisps – I liked The Blind Forest but Will of the Wisps grabbed my attention in a way the original didn't. The combat is more varied and challenging here, with some excellent boss fights combined with the exhilarating chase sequences from the first game. The world felt more alive and expansive, with colourful characters to encounter around every corner. It's beautiful to look at and Gareth Coker's superb soundtrack is the cherry on top.
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake – I don't have a history with FFVII having only played the original game last year, but I really enjoyed this remake. The main cast is wonderfully realised and the combat is the most fun I've had in a FF game, especially when playing through it again on Hard difficulty. My main concern going into FFXVI is that the combat won't match up. The game can be plodding at times – I would have cut a few chapters out – but there were more positive additions than negative.
4. Doom Eternal – I'm not a huge shooter fan these days, but Doom 2016 was great fun and Eternal delivered more of the same. The weapons are all a joy to use and there's plenty of adrenalin-pumping encounters to rip and tear your way through. The story and lore additions didn't do much for me, but it didn't harm my experience.
5. Marvel's Spider-Man: Morales – I was delighted Miles was getting his own game and it delivered exactly what I was hoping for. His powers made for satisfying additions to the combat, the cast was really likable and the story was solid, despite feeling a little rushed at times. Less of the flab that plagued the 2018 game too.
6. Demon's Souls – I started with Dark Souls so Demon's was a completely new experience for me. There's some weak boss fights and the AI is dated, but the environments are excellent and it's currently the visual showcase for the PS5. NG+ was really worth the effort too. You think you have it all figured out after one playthrough but it constantly surprises.
7. Star Wars: Squadrons – The campaign is solid but it's an appetiser for the main event: the fantastic multiplayer. Fleet Battles delivers the authentic Star Wars space battle experience I wanted. The ships all feel unique and it's really satisfying when good team work pays off.
8. A Short Hike – A charming and funny script is complemented by a cosy art style and the liberating feeling of soaring over a national park.
9. Ghost of Tsushima – It has some satisfying highs – the duels and the intro to the third island in particular - but Ghost is dragged down by the open world formula when I hoped it would strive for more. Jin is a likable protagonist but many of the side characters are more compelling. Its presentation is immaculate though – I loved the vibrancy of the colours.
10. Astro's Playroom – What a great freebie. I wasn't expecting much, but this is a breezy platformer that really demonstrates what the DualSense can do. Feeling the rain and sleet hit Astro for the first time was really memorable. But the game is actually great fun on its own.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [Switch] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
3. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
4. [PS4] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
5. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
6. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
7. [PS4] [Space combat] [Motive Studios] Star Wars: Squadrons
8. [Switch] [Adventure] [adamgryu] A Short Hike
9. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
10. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
    

 

[KillstealWolf]

Gosh, it's been quite a phenomenal year even with the pandemic involved, hasn't it? There are so many big games that I picked up and never even got around to like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and TLOU: Part 2 (Although this is partially due to also waiting on news of the next-gen versions for them) and I was still struggling to make a full game list, some just barely missed the cut like Dreams and Demon's Souls and Spiderman and Tony Hawks and 13 Sentinels... there's a lot and the list can go on and on. So let's jump right in.

1. Persona 5 Royal - I realise the irony of saying there is a lot of games and then putting an updated version of a past year's game on the top, but the game of 2017 is the game of 2020 for me as well. The great stylistic designs of a Persona with the compelling RPG gameplay are about, with further refinements, quality of life upgrades, and even more content. I found myself losing hours in the Revolution card game alone. Deserved top game, and worth the pick-up even if you already aced the original Persona 5.
2. Hades - Hades came out this year? At last, I can finally put it on the list here. A spectacular Roguelike with some amazing gameplay systems and fun weapon combos that is just about long enough to give you that "One More Run" feeling, with a great set of characters with incredible art design and a compelling story that takes place in between runs that makes even losses feel like you are progressing more through the plot. Should be the golden standard for Roguelikes to reach from now on.
3. Monster Train - Imagine Slay the Spire, but you are on a train, a weird train that's 4 stories high, but a train nonetheless, and all that stands between you and the angel armies is your deck of demons. It's the fun of Slay the Spire with more crazy synergies with the dual-class system allowing you to make some crazy decks. And the free updates to keep the game fresh and interesting are also spectacular, with the next one looking to hit it out of the park. Pick up Monster Train people.
4. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time - Reboots for an old property are always a worry because there's a very good chance it can go wrong. This is not the case with Crash 4 though which feels like a true continuation for the series. The traditional Crash Gameplay is brought back with a great colourful style with exceptional animation. The Quantum Masks and alternate characters mix up the gameplay. It may be a little on the padding side and there's the odd frustrating box which does hurt the 106% completion (Hopefully something the PS5 update fixes). But if you just want to blitz through the levels, platformers don't get any better than this.
5. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition - I look at the Skyward Sword HD that got announced recently and thought "Boy, I'm glad Xenoblade didn't end up with a remaster like that", a great visual overhaul to one of the best RPG games of all time, and on top of that we got a bonus campaign to play through as well? What's not to love about this one.
6. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX - It's great to see the Mystery Dungeon games not exiled to a life of mobile titles like so many others with the remaster of the originals. The pastel visual style is charming and the dungeon exploring is a lot more dynamic with the quality of life improvements and much bigger teams you can take on missions with you, you can be rolling up to the boss with a giant army by the end. Here's hoping Explorers will be getting a similar remake soon.
7. The Jackbox Party Pack 7 - In a year of lockdown, the Jackbox Party Packs are a godsend when you want to play with other people. Thankfully 7 is one of the strongest packs yet. Champ'd Up may be the best drawing game they have ever done knocking drawful off the top position. And the bizarre ted-talks we've had in Talking Points are hilarious. Just... maybe release a launcher for all the games soon, please? It's getting tricky to remember which games are in which pack.
8. Astro's Playroom - Talk about an introduction to the PS5, this may go down as one of the best pack-in games for a console ever. The homages to all 4 generations of PlayStation does what Playstation All-Stars never did, and the controller is expertly showcased with all its capabilities. It points to a bright future for the PS5, and hopefully a bright future for Astro as well.
9. No Straight Roads - It's hard to find a game more stylish than this one. The action rhythm game may not have the tightest gameplay of those on this list, but it easily makes up for it with its character and personality. One of the best soundtracks of the year as well. With all the bosses having great themes to fight to. First you are gonna Bunka, then you are gonna junka, and soon you will be Shaka Laka Bam!
10. One Step From Eden - One final roguelike to close out the top 10. A send-up to Mega Man Battle Network, you need to be on your feet and fast to win this one. Even a perfect draw of deck won't win you a run alone. But when you learn the boss patterns and how to exploit them, the game clicks with some great combinations that feel immensely satisfying to land.

That's it for 2020, will 2021 match up? Here's to hoping it does.

1. [PS4] [RPG] [Atlus] Persona 5 Royal
2. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [PC] [Roguelike] [Shiny Shoe] Monster Train
4. [PS4] [Platformer] [Toys for Bob] Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
5. [Switch] [Action RPG] [MonolithSoft] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
6. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Spike Chunsoft] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
7. [PC] [Party] [Jackbox Games] The Jackbox Party Pack 7
8. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
9. [PC] [Action Adventure] [Metronomik] No Straight Roads
10. [PC] [Roguelike] [Thomas Moon Kang] One Step From Eden
    

 

[mtel]

OK let me try and sneak in here!

1. Final Fantasy VII Remake - I hadn't even planned to pick up this game before quarantine started but I am so happy I did. From engaging combat (was stuck on Type-0 Behemoth for a good few hours but the battle system was so enjoyable I pushed through), to characters I fell in love with, to a score that I listen to nearly everyday, FF7 remake is everything a game should creatively, artistically and technically - well if you forget about the door at least - should be. Bring on Part 2!

2. Ghost of Tsushima - Easily the game that I feel like I spent the longest with this year, Ghost of Tsushima did feature elements of the 'open world formula' which many complain plagues video games, but I loved my time with it. Outstanding art direction and fun side activities kept me engaged all the way through to the platinum. I haven't had this much fun in a game world since the original Red Dead Redemption.

3. The Last of Us: Part II - I toyed so much with putting this number one because I recognise what an achievement it is in all aspects. What I find difficult is that Naughty Dog games (TLOU2 chief among them) are so gripping that I don't ever take time to appreciate what I'm going through because I am so engaged in the story and the game. The gameplay changes felt great and the closest to action-stealth freedom I have seen a game come since MGSV, and the actors knock it out of the park to deliver some of this year's best performances in any medium.

4. Animal Crossing New Horizons - (have a bit more to say about this one!)

Before 2020, the headline 'Animal Crossing takes over the world' was only something which existed in my 9-year-old self's dreams. But have no doubt - though Among Us contended for the throne of 'viral game', in a year dominated by Stay at Home orders, it was the creations of virtual ones in Animal Crossing: New Horizons which kept us going.​

​

So how is one of my most cherished video game franchises not number one? Well, while New Horizons did hundreds of things right for me simply be existing, for a long time fan of the franchise like myself, the absence of the majority of the special characters did not sit right for me. While I have enjoyed the seasonal content updates that Nintendo has added, particularly in cases where they have made full events of what was otherwise just the presence of someone in the plaza (Turkey Day), we are still lacking many of the colourful characters that made the game feel more than Big Brother but with animals. Gracie, Katrina, Phineas, Shrunk - these animals made City Folk's city (though underdeveloped) feel like another area of the Animal Crossing world compared to my own town. The most frustrating thing is that New Horizons has come close to this with Label, Redd, Leif and Kicks come to visit - I would love if they just expanded this to make New Horizons the ultimate instalment of the franchise, more than just another entry that could have not picked a better moment in history to release.​

​

Nonetheless, I have continued to go back and revisit my island throughout the year. I have not made any major changes design-wise, and can't help but feel that is because my experience does not feel as 'alive' as previous entries. Maybe that is just me having grown up and at a point where I am only ready to engage in AC on a part-time basis.​

​

5. Spider-Man Miles Morales - This was easily my game of the fall. A perfect length and action-packed/paced game that really made me feel like I was on the next generation (even if it was also on PS4). I will forever associate this game with the fun of new consoles and cannot wait to go back for the NG+.

6. Hades - I still haven't beat Hades but it grabbed me in a way few zeitgeist-inhabiting indie games could. Maybe it's the subject matter - I studied ancient Greece at university so have an affinity to the world or characters, or maybe it is the gameplay, or maybe it's the awesome soundtrack. I usually find myself far from enamoured with indie game trends, be it Dead Cells or Into the Breach, but Hades has smashed through that and catapulted all the way to my top 10.

7. Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War - Yes it's another Call of Duty game which you can either love or hate. But having put 200+ hours into the multiplayer/zombies with my friends, I do feel like I should reward the game with a spot on my list. While I'm far from a CoD pro, my peers who are far more skilled than I had fun with the game - and I myself enjoyed the traditional single-player campaign. Free DLC means that I'm finally on board with a CoD past the first couple of months of its release, and I find myself playing game modes that I wouldn't have touched in previous entries. It can be buggy, sure, but what this entry really is is a testament to multiplayer gaming in the year of COVID.

8. Astro's Playroom - a true delight in platforming. While my PlayStation history only goes back to ~PS3, being able to see the iconography of what came before was amazing. It was when the '...And Conquered Worlds' trophy popped, referencing the European Double Life PS1 ad that I truly recognised this as the love letter it was to PlayStation gaming, along with gameplay that was the closest to Nintendo as I have seen a company get. I know Sony is often portrayed (especially as of late) as a cold corporate entity, but this is packed so full of love that I can never believe that to be true.

9. Bugsnax - I don't usually stick around for these first-person indie games. Gone Home (even with its short duration) failed to grab me, but Bugsnax was another game that I platinum'ed this year, based on a fun story and the 'photograph them all' mechanic.

10. Fall Guys - A fun game of the summer. I love the Takeshi's Castle/Total Wipeout gameplay and seeing the world turn into beans for a few weeks was great fun. While it certainly did not have a long time riding high at the top of multiplayer mountain, I certainly had a good few nights enjoying it along the way.

1. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
3. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
4. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
5. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
6. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
7. [PS5] [Shooter] [Treyarch] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
8. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
9. [PS4] [Adventure] [Young Horses] Bugsnax
10. [PS4] [Party] [Mediatonic] Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
    

 

[Zero-Crescent]

Yakuza: Like A Dragon - RGG Studios managed to do the unlikely and completely change up the Yakuza formula in a spectacular fashion. Ichiban is a likable protagonist paired up with a motley crew, and the turn-based combat and job system, while having some minor issues, manages to meld with the Yakuza format shockingly well.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - While not the top game of 2020, it's probably the game that hit at the perfect time, with its "ideal Tropical Island getaway" fantasy. Even though there are some annoying UI quirks, one of the more positive trends with the AC series is how they've been giving the player more control over their villages. In New Leaf it was placing buildings and enacting laws, and this one expands even further with additional control over the terrain itself, along with furniture and item customization via crafting.

Star Wars: Squadrons - My expectations for this game were pretty low; a lower-priced title that is aiming for X-Wing/TIE Fighter series? While it doesn't clear that high bar, they did an admirable job trying. They simplify it just enough for console play without dumbing it down too much; power management is still an important consideration. It's obviously tailored toward multiplayer, with the main carrier battle mode being an entertaining showcase, but the single-player hits a bunch of the right notes with varied objectives and motley crews.

Final Fantasy VII Remake - While I played the original back in the day quite a bit, it was never my favorite in the series. With that in mind, my expectations for this were already low, so I was quite surprised to see how many chances they took with this remake. It successfully fleshes out Midgar and the Avalanche crew, builds off of the FFXV combat while adding flourishes from VII, and actually manages to put in some shocking story beats that made me excited to see where they want to take this series.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - I loved the PS4 Spider-Man and was a bit colder to the DLC, so I wasn't sure how the expansion would fare. They did a great job with this title, fleshing out Miles' character and those around him. The changes to suit Miles' personality and gameplay style also works well at differentiating him from Peter in the original game.

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics - A bunch of board and card games that largely play well, with a ton of personality. A lot better than carrying around the gear for these games.

Murder by Numbers - I like Phoenix Wright and I like Picross. Put em both together, and you have a game with a fine sense of style and a bunch of Picross puzzles to get through.

XCOM: Chimera Squad - A neat take on the XCOM formula, focusing on smaller areas and breach tactics. Probably the closest to a SWAT 2 sequel we'll ever see.

Spiritfarer - A sweet little title that deals with some heavy subjects in a whimsical fashion. While it can get a bit grindy toward the middle, the cast of characters a varied world kept me coming back to see how it all ends.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - I can't say I was the biggest fan of Odyssey; the messy story, samey environments, pointless side activities, and grindy middle part (Sparta) turned me off of it. While Valhalla still has its share of issues (I ran in to a game-breaking bug at one point and had to wait a few days for a patch), it seems to handle its story and difficulty curve a lot more reasonably (it also helps that one-shot assassinations returned). It's a more cohesive title than Odyssey, and despite some rough spots, I enjoyed my time more with it.

1. [XSX] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon
2. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. [PC] [Space combat] [Motive Studios] Star Wars: Squadrons
4. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
6. [Switch] [Party] [Nintendo] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
7. [Switch] [Visual Novel] [Mediatonic] Murder by Numbers
8. [PC] [Turn-based strategy] [Firaxis Games] XCOM: Chimera Squad
9. [Switch] [Adventure] [Thunderlotus] Spiritfarer
10. [XSX] [Action RPG] [Ubisoft] Assassin's Creed Valhalla
    

 

[phoebetwig]

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PC] [Shooter] [Valve] Half-Life: Alyx
3. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
4. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
6. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
7. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
   

 

[Idan27081]

1. The Last of Us Part II
No other game this year comes close to this absolute masterpiece, and I'm not even as huge a fan of the first game as so many others seem to be(I do think it's a great game).
It does everything it sets out to do in the best possible way: the acting performances, visual presentation, narrative, pacing, atmosphere, set pieces, encounter design, progression elements, combat mechanics, and vast improvements to the first game's formula while still maintaining the core that made it great. I consider it one of the most emotional and intense stories I've ever experienced in any medium, and it's among the greatest games of the last generation.

2. Cyberpunk 2077
I just finished it last week after 185 hours for one complete, thorough, exhaustive, 100% playthrough.
I played it on a decent PC with an RTX 2070, so my experience wasn't a technical disaster like PS4 or Xbox One.
I absolutely loved the game, but I acknowledge that it's partly due to my tendency to focus my attention away from some of the worst aspects and immerse myself in the world.
Night City is an incredible place that kept my jaw on the floor for most of the time.
The characters are some of the most well-written I've ever encountered in this medium.
The gameplay loop of my stealth-hacking neck-breaker was like an improved version of the Adam Jensen Deus-Ex games.
I can clearly see in my mind this game getting many extensive patches and updates that will make it a strong Game Of The Year contender for the next Game Awards ceremony.

3. Death Stranding
I played it for the first time on PC this year.
Because I had to play it offline, I did not engage with the social systems that I assume change the game drastically, so I feel like I must play it again some day to see for myself.
It was a unique and original experience, and I was totally engrossed in it for the entire 120 hours it took for me to reconnect America, rebuild all of the roads, and estabilsh a vast zipline network.
As someone who hasn't played any Metal Gear game(or any other Kojima game, for that matter), I was surprised at how stupid and weird some parts were, but they didn't detract much from the excellence of the core gameplay and narrative.
The weakest parts were the bog-standard 3rd person shooter levels, and I hope that if a miracle happens and we somehow get a sequel it will dive deeper into the long lonely journeys and engaging traversal mechanics.

4. Ghost Of Tsushima
I've had high hopes for this game ever since the reveal trailer 3 years ago, though I was slightly concerned we'd get just another open-world game full of tired tropes and worn out elements.
When I finally played it, I enjoyed it so much that now I kinda feel like it deserves better than 4th place on my list.
It has the some of the most visually striking and eye-popping art direction I've ever seen.
The combat was great and never felt like it was getting stale, despite the fact that I had so many different tools and ways of killing enemies that they were barely an inconvenience even on the hardest difficulty.
The story was good. Not great, not terrible. Mostly memorable because of the music, the performances, and the big set pieces at the end of each of the 3 acts.
It might technically be a standard Ubisoft-style-open-world game, but it executes every component in an oustanding way and as a whole, it's much greater than the sum of its parts.

5. Gears Tactics
I was very surprised to enjoy this game as much as I did.
I'm a huge XCOM player since Enemy Unknown came out over 8 years ago, and I also played and loved the entire Gears Of War franchise, so I knew I'd like this game, but it still went way above my expectations.
It eliminates a lot of the redundant and overbearing mechanics in the XCOM series, and offers a streamlined action-based tactics gameplay loop.
It looks and feels very much like a Gears Of War game, despite the new genre, and it even has a decent story with characters that are more than tough guys with big biceps and big guns.
I'm definitely gonna play it again(and again) like I did(and still do) with the games from the XCOM series, and I'm excited to imagine how good a sequel would be in a few years.

6. XCOM: Chimera Squad
This game came out of nowhere and my immediate reaction was: "this is a lazy cash-grab spinoff game with reused assets and cut corners", but I was delighted to play it and realize how wrong that reaction was.
It is very similar to Gears Tactics in the sense that it's basically an XCOM-lite.
It limits the squad to a cast of pre-existing alien and human characters rather than user-generated or randomly-generated human soldiers of the previous games, so it feels very fresh after XCOM 2.
I had a lot of fun with the 3 big changes to the tactical combat: the initiative system which made me think about which ability to use at what time instead of Alpha-Striking everything, the encounter-based missions which made me combine long-term and short-term strategy, and the Breach Mode which was just so cool every time.
I am now hyped for both XCOM 3, and Chimera Squad 2.

7. Battletoads
This was tons of fun to play with two friends on the couch in local co-op.
I didn't play the old game, and I didn't really care about the story or the characters, but the gameplay variety, the visual design, and the light-hearted atmosphere were all spot-on.
Not an award-worthy game, but great for a few hours of laughing and cursing at those impossible turbo bike levels.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PC] [Action RPG] [CD Projekt] Cyberpunk 2077
3. [PC] [Action] [Kojima Productions] Death Stranding
4. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
5. [PC] [Turn-based strategy] [Splash Damage] Gears Tactics
6. [PC] [Turn-based strategy] [Firaxis Games] XCOM: Chimera Squad
7. [PC] [Beat 'em up] [Rare] Battletoads
   

 

[ninnanuam]

1. Yakuza Like A Dragon: I have loved almost all the Yakuza games. But I was a tad sceptical if Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio could pull off the turn based combat. However the final product blew my expectations out of the water. The turn based combat is in some ways superior to the brawling found in the earlier titles and the benefits of a party such as a pretty robust loyalty/relationship system and party construction added an extra layer of "RPGness" that works fantastically well with the series. To the point that I don't think I want to go back to a single character action RPG brawler. That doesn't even go into all the things the Yakuza games have always done well like story, or characters or the well realised mini games. I knew Yakuza was probably going to end up on my list, I just didn't know it would stand head and shoulders above everything else I played this year. I didn't have a better time with a game this year, It's not even close.

1. Fuser, I know it's barely a game, and it's not really even a good party game like Rockband but figuring out good mixes hit some part of my music/puzzle brain that I can't deny. Its only real issue is a lack of tracks. Please add more Harmonix!


3. Crusader Kings III This was my first time really giving Crusader Kings an honest shot. I put a few hours into Crusader Kings 2 but it never clicked. 3 got me over the hump. The first step was to forget about trying to "succeed" and just enjoy the outcomes. Man my court was filled with murderous sons of bitches.


4. Persona 5 Royal, I loved Persona 5 and Royal is, I think a superior version. The added bits are substantial and it's a no brainer purchase if you never played the original.


5. Ghost of Tsushima, the story is so so but then so are the stories in most Assassins Creed games and this is essentially a better one of those. I usually play through at least one of these big open world games every year, this year I played three of them (Valhalla, Ghost, and WD3) Ghost was the only one I actually finished.

6. Wasteland 3 I'm not close to completing it yet and it's possible it'll fall off a cliff but what I have played has been pretty bloody enjoyable. My problem is that every time I sit down to get stuck in I end up playing Crusader Kings instead.


7. Tetris Effect: Connected, it's a cool Tetris variant with a fun hippy skin. I usually found myself taking a break of Valhalla or Cyberpunk and booting into this for half an hour. It's the perfect cleanser. I only picked it up because It was on Gamepass and I am glad I did.


8. Hotshot Racing 90's throwback blue sky Daytona arcade racing action. Most fun I've had with a racer in a few years.


9. Cyberpunk 2077, I had my share of bugs, (I lost NPC dialogue in all saves at some point, I needed to uninstall and reinstall the game) but I can't deny that I played the game for 92 hours and I enjoyed my time in Night City. Sure its not really on the level of a Witcher or Fallout but it is the best damn Farcry style game I've ever played.

10. Yakuza 0 you're going to let me vote for Yakuza 0 again? OK. Usually I wouldn't put a new platform release on my list but Yakuza 0 is special and I actually did end up playing through it a third time when it came out on XBOX last year.

1. [XSX] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon
2. [XBO] [Rhythm] [Harmonix] Fuser
3. [PC] [Grand strategy] [Paradox Interactive] Crusader Kings III
4. [PS4] [RPG] [Atlus] Persona 5 Royal
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
6. [PC] [RPG] [InXile Entertainment] Wasteland 3
7. [XSX] [Puzzle] [Monstars and Resonair] Tetris Effect: Connected
8. [XBO] [Action RPG] [CD Projekt] Cyberpunk 2077
9. [XBO] [Action Adventure] [Sega] Yakuza 0
   

 

[FelipeMGM]

1. The Last of Us Part II: Probably my favorite game of the generation as well. This is by far the most pleasant to play a Naughty Dog game has ever felt, I went through three different times and had three different gameplay experiences depending on approach and difficulty. You really can go on all-out action (we've all seen Sunhi an Much's GIF's) or fully stealthy and everything in between. Then, there's all the factors that ND is known for: the world-building, the set-pieces, the performance, the production value, all top notch. The direction where they took the narrative is somewhat divisive, but I loved it. I loved the new cast of characters and how they made the bold decision to really give the playtime to develop them, basically making a whole game for them. The complementary journey that Ellie and Abby went through was sad, exhausting, thrilling, beautiful and one of most impactfull experiences I had in gaming.
2. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales: For me, superior in almost every way than the original 2018 game. Miles is a much more well explored character outside of the Spider-Man mantle than Peter was, and they gave New York and specially East Harlem much more personality this time too. It feels more like a living city and not just a bunch of tall buildings that are perfectly suitable for Spidey's traversal. I also like the combat here, more melee based and less reliant on gadgets, better than the original. Its definitely a known quantity in terms of overall super-hero story but its definitely a touching tale of finding yourself and learning to deal with your responsabilities. Hope Miles gets as much attention as Peter in this universe moving forward.
3. Ori and the WIll of the Wisps: I love all the changes and additions they did to this game. Instead of some button mashing nonsense, now we have a pretty robust combat system that is a delight to play, which matched perfectly with the bosses they added into the game. The platforming was already great, but now the design and abilities make it even more fast paced. The game also feels a little more like a metroidvania this time, though it remains mostly a platformer. The side-quests were a nice touch too, especially since the NPC's are lovely characters. The game managed to come out even more beautiful than the original, which is a remarkable feat considering how gorgeous Blind forest is. To me, its a sequel that either matches or surpasses all the elements of the original.
4. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About TIme: My favorite franchise as a kid had such a remarkable comeback this gen, I'm so happy. This new original game managed to keep the foundation of what made us love Crash, and mix a little bit of modern platforming design in there too. I was highly surprised by the amount of content and also how much thought and work they put into making this a hilarious story with plenty of cool twists related to the history of the franchise. I hope Toys for Bob can keep working on the franchise moving forward.
5. Final Fantasy VII Remake: What a tremendous project. Its insane that Square actually pulled this off and what we got is a great game that leaves us really hopeful about the future. I do think there are some chapters that feel way off in terms of pacing and staight up necessity of being there, but also some brand new additions feel perfectly fitted to explore more of this world and cast of characters. The combat system they implemented here might be the perfect mix between action and old-school that they have been experimenting with for years at this point. And boy did I love the new twists in the story to justify the whole project. Kudos to Square for pulling such an incredible effort in a project that had amounted so much expectation.
6. Ghost of Tsushima: Definitely wasnt a big fan of the main narrative in the game, but what engaged me here for fifty hours was the most beautiful open-world I ever had the pleasure. Its great that they definitely looked at other open-world games of late and took many of the mechanics and design choices that made an open-world less stiff and filled with freedom, while also coming up with some new mechanics of theirs for that. And of course the whole feudal Japan backdrop was a dream come true in terms of setting for many, and the quirks and unique situations that they created because of that, like the duels and many of the side content, were a delight.
7. Dreams: It's a shame this doesn't have a bigger playerbase. I didnt create as much as I though I would, but I played a lot in a experience that was very much like browing hours and hours on youtube, but for games. I am glad for the incredible community they have though, despite its size, because I was constantly amazed by how talented many dreamers are. Also, the Art's Journey campaign was one of the most lovely stories in games this year.
8. Call of Duty: Warzone: It's crazy that a game with this amount of support and production value can be free to play these days, but here we are. Warzone is the most fun I had with a battle royale this gen, a game that engaged a massive amount of my friends, many I didnt even know had that gaming itch in them. The support through the year was great, with new modes, events and guns keeping the whole thing fresh constantly. I played basically for the whole year without ever spending a dime and the fun was always there.
9. DOOM Eternal: It's curious that this is here despite being also a sort of disappointing release for me. I think 2016 is a much superior game in terms of structure, world design and pacing, and the heavy work put into establing a lore intensive narrative in the game didnt appeal to me as well, but its undeniable that the gameplay loop in the game remains extremely fun so I definitely had a great time playing this, I just wasnt nowhere near as engaged with it as I was with 2016's
10. Gears 5 Hivebusters: Such a fun time. This adventure excelled in its shortness I think, because it had a good variety of encounters, a great cast of characters and a beautiful colorful Gears world that didnt overstay its welcome in any way. Such a pleasant surprise too since I didnt know this was a thing until it launched.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
3. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
4. [PS4] [Platformer] [Toys for Bob] Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
5. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
6. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
7. [PS4] [Game Creation] [Media Molecule] Dreams
8. [PS4] [Shooter] [Infinity Ward] Call of Duty: Warzone
9. [XBO] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
10. [XSX] [Shooter] [The Coalition] Gears 5
    

 

[SxP]

1. Astro's Playroom - Just a delight in every single way. It just kept on surprising me. With the cute visuals, the references to past PlayStation games and hardware, the music, the suits, the creativity... just everything. And the use of the DualSense makes this game the best controlling game ever. Or at the very least the most enjoyable one. The simple act of walking or jumping is made fun and it enhances every second of playtime. And every reference, and artifact, or music cue just made me happy. It exudes a love for gaming in every moment. And that really resonated with me. I love gaming, I love my memories of PlayStation consoles,handhelds, and their games. And I most certainly loved this game.
2. Ghost of Tsushima - Sucker Punch created a beautiful world in Tsushima. Many, many times I was floored by how gorgeous it is and how wonderful it felt to be in that world. And the game knows it as well, as many elements take the oppurtonity to "show-off" the world and the vistas. And I enjoyed every one of those moments, as the atmosphere in the game is second to none among open world games. Regarding the story, Jin was a great protagonist, and his struggles and evolution throughout the game were very well done. The storylines of your companions were real highlights as well, showcasing the different effects of what losing everything you've ever had can do to people. Gameplay wise, it was pretty standard with camps and forts and points of interest. But it remained engaging because of the world and because it controls well, it's very stylish, and the stand-offs and duels remain fun throughout.
3. The Last of Us Part II - While it didn't reach the heights of the first one for me, I still enjoyed it immensely. The gameplay is just sublime. The best TPS ever made in my opinion. Even on Normal, there's a palpable tension in every single encounter. Stealth feels rewarding, but risky. Enemies are smart, but predictable. Getting caught and having to go guns blazing feels exhilarating, as you're not very tanky and you want to conserve resources. Many of the environments are larger than in the previous game as well, giving you more options, but there's more risks as there are often more enemies as well. It's an improvement on the first one in every way in this regard. The story has its ups and downs. I appreciate that they didn't take the easy way, but not everything worked for me. I didn't sympathize with Abby enough to make the important moments of the final third of the game really work. But there's a lot of depth in the characters, and they definitely take their time to explore them. Overall, it was an amazing experience.
4. Demon's Souls - An almost immaculate remake of one of my favorite games of all time. The atmosphere in the original was fantastic, even with all the limitations. But now, there isn't a single game that can match the atmosphere of this game. Some areas are intensely ominous, while others ooze oppression. The Tower of Latria is easily the best location in all Soulsborne games, and has a greater sense of horror than most actual horror games. Even the swamp level might be terrible to navigate, but it nails the sense of dread that one would feel when dropped in a location like that. The moment-to-moment gameplay and bosses might be better in later Soulsborne games, but the world, lore, and atmosphere are still unmatched by any of the later games.
5. Final Fantasy VII Remake - It felt so good to be back in Midgar. The entire intro section just felt magical. They pretty much nailed everything. And many times during the rest of the game, I felt that same feeling again. They really remade this game with love, and it shows. The music is such a big part of it, and it's just perfect. Both the tracks on their own, and their use in the game itself. The battle system is fast and pretty tactical. Pausing the action to input command can allow you some time to think and makes it less reliant on just your reflexes. It's just a shame that the bosses, with their phase changes, can often nullify all your hard work. Just when you want to reap the rewards of your careful setup, they switch phases and reset their stagger bar. It's just a shame that they felt the need to pad some sections so much. I thought it might have been the more open sections that felt padded out, but I actually thought they really made Midgar feel alive. It's not a large open world, but it creates an atmosphere and a sense of being like few other games. Rather, it was the overly long, overly samey, linear dungeons in the middle and end that drag the game down. Story wise, I can understand why the ending is divisive. I'm open to see what they'll do next, though I'm a bit wary given the people making this.
6. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - I expected to love the story, and I did. It raises a lot of questions, answers some by asking even more questions, and keeps surprising you to the very end. Often when you think you understand what's happening, a casual remark will shatter that view and make you doubt everything all over again. The characters are mostly great, and very lovable. Even the worst character is still OK-ish, which is a great accomplishment in a game with 13 protagonists. Even though you constantly jump between characters and times, and even between points in the story, they still develop the characters and the relationships between them beautifully. On the other hand, I didn't expect to love the combat, and yet I did. In a sense, it's a RtwP type of gameplay, but with a full cast of characters I pretty much spent every second inputting commands or switching to another character. It's fast, it's frenetic, it's pretty tactical, and it's just a lot of fun.
7. Dragon Quest XI - A grand adventure. There aren't a ton of games that,by the time they end, make you feel like you've been on a long and arduous adventure with a cherished group of friends, but Dragon Quest XI is certainly one of them. The world feels expansive and alive, and you get to see it change and change again as the story progresses. And it just keeps progressing, as it's certainly a very long game. What surprised me in a good way where the characters. The overall story is as cookie cutter as it gets, but the characters have some real depth, heartfelt moments, and really felt like friends at the end. They were definitely the glue that held the entire game together. Gameplay wise, it's a shame the battle system is so… boring. Regular encounters often end without the enemy even getting a single turn. And that's without any grinding at all. It gets much better in some of the dungeons at the end of the game, where MP management also becomes a factor. But for such a long game, it's just not engaging enough throughout most of it.
8. Spider-Man Miles Morales - It's a more focused version of the 2018 game, and it works as much as it doesn't. Gameplay wise I definitely appreciated that the fluff was cut, like the forced stealth sections with MJ. And Miles' powers definitely made for more varied and fun combat, both in stealth and in melee. But the story suffered a lot, as they tried to do too much in too little time. Phin felt underdeveloped, as did Harlem. And considering those two were the focus of the story, it just felt merely passable to me in that department.
9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - This game definitely came at the perfect time for me, and I assume for a lot of people. It was just a perfect way to relax and let everything go, just when everything was uncertain and everyone's plans for the future had to be put on hold. I mostly played with a group of family members, and we easily could play for an entire evening. We didn't "do" much, but it just felt nice to use it as a virtual living room of sorts. By myself, I enjoyed shaping my island, but there's not much depth to it. Because you often have to wait a day for something to happen, it feels like you're doing a lot. But if those restrictions weren't there, it'd be very easy to see how shallow it is. It's also shocking just how bad the UX is. Everything is just so complicated or cumbersome. And all those annoyances did add up for me eventually and soured me a bit on the game.
10. Among Us - A real blast with family and friends. Made us lose track of time more often than I'd care to admit.

Overall, this was an amazing year for me. I had a real hard time picking between my top 6 games. It'll be hard for 2021 to top this.

1. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
3. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
4. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
5. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
6. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
7. [PS4] [RPG] [Square Enix] Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition
8. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
9. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
10. [PC] [Party] [Innersloth] Among Us
    

 

[disillusion386]

1. Hades (Switch): Hades is a surprise GOTY for me because I didn't even know it existed until it was generating GOTY buzz and I've never played a rogue-like before. I'm glad I got convinced to play it because it brought me so much joy in the latter part of the year. Hades was so replayable to the point of being addicting because of the variety and level of build experimentation. The story was such a clever use of Greek mythology for the rogue-like genre, and the characters were so charming. Aside from a non-2020 game (FE Three Houses), this was also my most played game of the year. I'm so glad I gave it a shot.
2. The Last of Us Part II (Playstation 4): TLOU2 would have been my GOTY had it not been for Hades. The game had such a powerful story, and its storytelling, by having you play as two "protagonists," really pushed video game narratives forward. The combat and stealth were tight, and a lot of the encounters really amped up the tension with me being on the edge of my seat. Most importantly, I loved the level of representation in this game, and it was really crushing seeing some of the newly introduced characters die.
3. Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox One): To be honest, I'm surprised Ori made it into the top 3 of my GOTY list this year because I almost dropped it. I started playing it during launch and stopped at around the 40% mark because I was hooked on Fire Emblem Three Houses. I'm glad I came back to it because I would have missed out on finishing such a lovely experience. The platforming was smooth, the art style was surreal, and the music just gave me goosebumps throughout. The combat, especially the boss fights, were so much fun, and I loved that Moon Studios combined traditional battle with platforming in the boss sequences.
4. Ghost of Tsushima (Playstation 4): Sucker Punch delivered a love letter to Feudal Japan and Samurai cinema with Ghost of Tsushima. From the beautiful environments, to the mythic tale sequences, to the haikus, and the cinematography of the duels, this game made me feel like I was in an old school Japanese Samurai movie. Jin Sakai, with his earnestness, was such a great new character this gen. Gameplay-wise, it reminded me a lot of older Assassin's Creed games, in both good and bad aspects.
5. Final Fantasy VII Remake (Playstation 4): Great remake all around, and a successful attempt at modernizing the ATB system. The game had really beautiful character models and animations as well. Some questionable decisions aside, I thought the game fleshed out the story quite well, and I can't wait to play the next installments.
6. Marvel's Spider-Man Miles Morales (Playstation 5): Perhaps it was the next-gen shine that pushed Miles Morales into my list. Though it's more of an addendum to 2018's Spider-Man, the game did everything exceptionally well. It was great to explore a story about Miles with a diverse cast of characters. Miles's moveset was a lot more fun where you can now mix and match with venom attacks while not having to rely on gadgets as much as in the original. Graphical and performance upgrades on the PS5 were also phenomenal and made for a smooth experience.
7. Resident Evil 3 (Playstation 4): I didn't enjoy RE3R as much as RE2R (which was GOTY runner up for 2019), but it was a nice short-and-sweet Resident Evil experience. Plus it's been a while since Jill had a starring role in an RE game so it was a treat to see her in current gen tech and graphics. Carlos was also a highlight and much improved from his PS1 iteration.
8. Gears Tactics (Xbox Series X): I fell in love with tactics games this past year because of Fire Emblem Three Houses so I was excited for Gears Tactics and even made it my "launch" Xbox Series X game. The mechanics are rock solid and fun with a lot of build variety, and the game had a distinct Gears flavor with over-the-top set pieces and dialogue. Unfortunately, the game got a bit repetitive especially towards the third act. Gears Tactics almost didn't make my GOTY list because of the lack of mission variety, but I thoroughly enjoyed the core gameplay and would love to see a sequel.

1. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
3. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
4. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
5. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
6. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
7. [PS4] [Survival Horror] [Capcom] Resident Evil 3 Remake
8. [XSX] [Turn-based strategy] [Splash Damage] Gears Tactics
   

 

[ClivePwned]

For me, the game I most enjoyed was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 remake.
It was near perfect. And I have the onset of arthritus in my left hand to show for it.

Cold War was a decent single player and a pretty good multi (at least the modes I normally play), which was nice after the last two Black Ops games were merely OK.

Valhalla was a good game, but in common with Odyssey, doesn't know when to quit.

3D All Stars was interesting. it was clearly not a major undertaking on the part of Nintendo, but it was nice to be able to try Sunshine again for the first time in over a decade and a half (and then remember it's comparitively not that great). I finally got to beat Galaxy 1 this time around so that was cool.

Ghost of Tsushima. A really polished AC style game, or another Sony Open World game, though this time actually felt to me a more enjoyable experience than Sony's biggest gun of 2020.

Last of Us Part II. Conflicted. It was polished, utterly beautiful to look at, had a lot going for it, but was not really fun to play, and a slog to finish, especially when it feels so padded to make it long, and then you have to basically level up twice. There seemed no interest in making the combat interesting (it's worse than the first game). It's on the list because I basically included ALL of the 2020 games I bought.

Note: two 2020 games I want to play but have yet to are Half Life Alyx (don't have VR), and Doom Eternal. I don't know where either might have appeared in my list had I played them.

1. [PS4] [Sports] [Vicarious Visions] Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
2. [PS5] [Shooter] [Treyarch] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
3. [XSX] [Action RPG] [Ubisoft] Assassin's Creed Valhalla
4. [Switch] [Platformer] [Nintendo] Super Mario 3D All-Stars
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
6. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
   

 

[Nameless]

13 Sentinels - While a completely different style of game, the elements that make 13 Sentinels special - striking art direction, an ensemble of loveable characters, rich sci-fi storytelling - really spoke to me as a diehard, long starved fan of the Chrono series. It's also quite the achievement in narrative structure & presentation through video games. This applies to the battles as well, which do a great job conveying the massive city-wide scale of the conflict. In my opinion this is an essential work for those who love time travel or science fiction. There's nothing out there quite like it.

Wasteland 3 - New Vegas is one my favorite games and you can definitely feel the common DNA here. Choices matter and organically inform other choices. Good or bad, the consequences aren't always felt immediately, so you don't know when something will come back around. The worldbuilding and the writing are stellar, with clever political sattire that's spot on in its commentary. The real life Capitol Insurrection by Trump Cultists, for example, felt like something ripped directly from the absurdity of WL3's wonderful game world.

The Last of Us 2 - We all know ND are masters at crafting believable, multi-dimensional characters and gripping narratives, but those aren't my main reasons fot loving TLOU2. First and foremost it's the incredible stealth-action mechanics, systems, A.I, and encounter design. It scratches that MGS/Splinter Cell itch well. Second is the ultra engrossing atmosphrere, exploration, and environmental storytelling. Sifting through the remnants of a dead society, following the often tragic stories of those who tried & failed to survive before you. Terrific stuff.

Demon's Souls - Amazing blend of next gen production values and OG souls game/level design.

Doom Eternal - A shooter made for character action fans who want to become God.

Nioh 2 - Deep, endlessly satisfying combat systems that allow you to build your own fighting style.

Dreams - GOTY worthy for the attempt alone. No other creation suite comes close.

Visage - A clever, more grounded approach to survival horror.

Cyberpunk - Absurdly immersive, staggering in scale.

Othercide - Goth horror SRPG dripping with style and dread.

1. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
2. [XBO] [RPG] [InXile Entertainment] Wasteland 3
3. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
4. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
5. [PS4] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
6. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Team Ninja] Nioh 2
7. [PS4] [Game Creation] [Media Molecule] Dreams
8. [XBO] [Survival horror] [SadSquare Studio] Visage
9. [XBO] [Action RPG] [CD Projekt] Cyberpunk 2077
10. [PS4] [Turn-based strategy] [Lightbulb Crew] Othercide
    

 

[Voras]

1. Final Fantasy VII Remake: A remake of a classic that expands on the plot and character work of the original while building a new battle system that finally delivers on the promise of Square's many attempts at action RPGs.

2. Umurangi Generation: A game that is very much for and about 2020. It oozes with style and has an incredible soundtrack. The story is where the game really shines though. It's a game that made me think more about the impacts of climate change and the rise of fascism than any other piece of media last year.

3. If Found...: A beautiful game about queerness and depression that resonated deeply with me.

4. Kentucky Route Zero: Eight years later Kentucky Route Zero finally comes to a conclusion and the complete package is incredibly unique. It's story feels even more relevant now than it did when it first released.

5. Hades: Fantastic art, fun characters and an enjoyably complex combat system.

6. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rift: A wild ride of a story with great art to back it up. Also a solid tower defense system.

7. Animal Crossing: New Horizons: I've loved this series since the first game released on GameCube, but none of the previous games took over my life quite like this one. Maybe it was a factor of the pandemic but I played this game nearly every day for ten months. Very few games have ever stuck with me that consistently for that long.

8. Spider-Man: Miles Morales: A great story and meaningful improvements to the combat system, with the venom powers, and the stealth system with invisibility.

9. Ori and the Will of the Wisps: A fantastic sequel with better movement abilities and gorgeous visuals.

10. Half-Life: Alyx: A new entry in the Half-Life series combined with a substantial and innovative VR game.

1. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
2. [PC] [Simulation] [ORIGAME DIGITAL] Umurangi Generation
3. [PC] [Adventure] [DREAMFEEL] If Found...
4. [PC] [Point-and-click adventure] [Cardboard Computer] Kentucky Route Zero
5. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
6. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
7. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
8. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
9. [PC] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
10. [PC] [Shooter] [Valve] Half-Life: Alyx
    

 

[John Bender]

1. Ghost of Tsushima: An AAA samurai game with an almost perfect combat system.
2. Final Fantasy VII Remake: I've waited 2 decades for this and Square-Enix didn't disappoint. A fantastic game.
3. Demon's Souls: The best Souls game got better. Congrats to Bluepoint Games for creating this beautiful remake.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
2. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
   

 

[Inglorious Man]

1. Hades- My favorite roguelike. Great story and characters. Great gameplay and music is terrific.
2. The Last of Us Part II- Naughty Dogs best game to date. Great story and characters. Abby is awesome. The gameplay is great especially the stealth gameplay.
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake- My favorite Final Fantasy game. I like that it is not open world and the battle system is so fun. Music is also great.
4. Ghost of Tsushima- Sucker Punch best game to date. The gameplay was great and the story is very good. The art style is good too with the variety of colors in the environment.
5. Spider-Man: Miles Morales- This game great. I like better than previous Spider-Man game. Playing as Miles Morales is so fun.
6. Assassin's Creed Valhalla- Much better than Odyssey. The setting of the Viking Age is great and Eivor is a great protagonist. The game also had great moments and the ending is so wild.
7. Paper Mario: The Origami King- This game is so charming. Writing is very funny and the battle system was unique. The art style of the game was great too.
8. Streets of Rage 4- A great update to the classic beat up em genre. Gameplay is great.
9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons- My first Animal Crossing and it was great. I really liked how each day could offer something new. My most played game of 2020.
10. Godfall- This game I was not expecting to be in my top ten. The game has its problems, but it is very fun to play. The graphics are also really good too.

1. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
3. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
4. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
5. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
6. [XSX] [Action RPG] [Ubisoft] Assassin's Creed Valhalla
7. [Switch] [RPG] [Intelligent Systems] Paper Mario: The Origami King
8. [XBO] [Beat 'em up] [DotEmu] Streets of Rage 4
9. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
10. [PS5] [Action RPG] [Counterplay Games] Godfall
    

 

[Spectrum]

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: The gorgeous hand painted graphics coupled with the sci-fi elements were what initially piqued interested. The real star of the game though, was the narrative, where what seems like a myriad of contradicting threads come together into a very satisfying plot. The game not only presents the story in non-linear fashion, but also gives you agency to piece it together in a multitude of different ways, depending on how you decide to do it. It makes you eager to try and connect the dots yourself. It's in my opinion one of the few examples where the delivery of the story is enhanced by being presented as a videogame.
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Watching all those animals makes me sleep.
3. Panel de Pon: It's Puzzle League with fairies! I'm glad this was finally given a release in the west.
4. Catherine: Full Body: I was a bit disappointed in the story as choices didn't have an impact on it until the very end. Anyways, I think the game had a very unique atmosphere and the puzzle elements were surprisingly solid and deep.
5. Touhou Luna Nights: Fun boss battles and the time mechanics were creative.
6. Part Time UFO: Very charming game with a very nice art style. Both the graphics and the gameplay, reminded me of Nintendo DS games, so it felt somewhat nostalgic. That said I was not biggest fan of the mechanics although the physics were very spot-on.

1. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
2. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. [Switch] [Puzzle] [Intelligent Systems] Panel de Pon
4. [Switch] [Puzzle] [Atlus] Catherine: Full Body
5. [Switch] [Metroidvania] [Team Ladybug] Touhou Luna Nights
6. [Switch] [Puzzle] [HAL Laboratory] Part Time UFO
   

 

[iiicon]

1. Kentucky Route Zero - Kentucky Route Zero has been my favourite game of the last decade, delivering an episode or interstitial (frustratingly) infrequently since 2013. Episode 5, the only part of that released in 2020, may not have been the best episode of the bunch, but it was still a lovely coda nonetheless and brought to a conclusion the best example of magical realism in games I can think of.

2. Crusader Kings III - Paradox grand strategy games have always threatened to take over my waking thoughts since I was first introduced to them via the ASoIaF mod for CK2 years back, but for the longest time they remained curiosities rather than obsessions. I would pluck away at them for a campaign or two, watch some playthroughs, then move on. CK3 broke this streak. It does an incredible job of onboarding you and reminding you of all the big and little things needed to sustain your empire. For the first couple months after its release, all I could think of was different ways to tackle the game beyond the opening starts it suggests for you. I'd look up historical figures and read about them to get a sense of how I want to manage their empire. The game is wonderfully deep and full of staggering potential for future playthroughs.

3. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - The original Ori was already in the running for my favourite exploration platformer. The sequel cements its argument. Will of the Wisps retains the stunning atmosphere and freeing sense of movement, adds several layers of world complexity, and introduces a pretty fun light combat system to boot.

4. Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children - I came into the Spring anticipating Gears Tactics, and was pleasantly surprised by the announcement and release of a new XCOM game. I had assumed my tactical/strategy itch was going to be scratched, and I'd move on satisfied. And that's mostly true, those two games were quite good, but little did I know there was this little known game out of Korea that would leave early access between those two releases and would be the best tactical experience I'd have all year. This game wears its influences on its sleeve - it's got a layer of XCOM and a layer of Tactics Ogre laid out for everyone to see, with a wonderful sense of emergent and reactive elements that make each map a blast to clear and often distinct from what comes before and after. It's definitely rough around the edges but it's a hidden gem that unfortunately not many people will ever know exists.

5. Nioh 2 - Nioh games may not satisfy my sense of exploration like the Souls games do, but they are still my favourite Souls-like because they don't even try, they instead lean into what they're best at: character action. Nioh 2 is a lot like Nioh 1, and that's not a bad thing as Nioh 1 is one of the best action RPGs I've ever played. The small changes like character customization, and new weapons are more than enough for me.

6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons. A New Leaf was a lightning in a bottle kind of experience for me. It had its life as a zen garden that I would play every day for months, and after that wore itself out it had a second life as a social game with my family as my young children started to enjoy it. New Leaf even helped my youngest learn how to read. New Horizons never had a chance to live up to that experience, so I find it difficult to rank it as I never spent as much time devoted to it as I did New Leaf. Part of that is the game's own fault - New Leaf was relatively inexpensive as were 3DSes, so it was easy to justify having several copies and handhelds for my family to play, while there was no way that would happen with the Switch to say nothing of its baffling multiplayer restrictions. Part of that isn't the game's fault, having released during the start of the pandemic and I struggled to focus on something like this while the world fell apart. But its still at its core a relaxing experience, and one I did continually go back to over the year, even if it never reached the level of obsession for me that it potentially could have had.

7. Desperados III - This game managed to satisfy me both as a revival of Desperados, an excellent strategy game from days gone, and as a follow-up to the studio's other strategy game Shadow Tactics. Mimimi Games are still the undisputed best at blending real-time strategy with stealth.

8. Monster Train - Monster Train. Man, Monster Train. I wasn't expecting a deckbuilding roguelike with tower defence elements to be the roguelike game I spent the most time with in 2020, particularly with the release of Spelunky 2 always on the horizon and Hades in the background, but damn, Monster Train rules. There's little else as satisfying as seeing your plan come together as you take down a boss, and even if you fail, the game is just so easy and fun to get into that I found myself going "just one more turn."

9. Spelunky 2 - The Spelunky sequel makes a lot of smart changes and adds significantly more depth to the formula, and it can be off-putting at first as the game is quite a step up in difficulty, but it all evens out in the end as I found myself enjoying this just as much as I was hoping I would.

10. Signs of the Sojouner - A lovely little narrative deckbuilder that's about finding compatible conversation partners just as much as it is about dealing with conversation roadblocks and going with the flow.

1. [PC] [Point-and-click adventure] [Cardboard Computer] Kentucky Route Zero
2. [PC] [Grand strategy] [Paradox Interactive] Crusader Kings III
3. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
4. [PC] [Turn-Based Strategy] [Dandylion] Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children
5. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Team Ninja] Nioh 2
6. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
7. [PC] [RTS] [Mimimi Games] Desperados III
8. [PC] [Roguelike] [Shiny Shoe] Monster Train
9. [PS4] [Platformer] [Mossmouth] Spelunky 2
10. [PC] [Card Game] [Echodog Games] Signs of the Sojourner
    

 

[Slime Stack]

I played an absolute metric ton of games this year. But ironically enough I mostly old games and stuff that I've meaning to get around to. I also didn't play the super big releases like Last of Us 2, FF7R, Ghosts of Tsushima or Spider Man. I can't even think of 10 games to put on here lmao. Nonetheless I played some absolutely amazing games this year. Most of these I would even consider to among the greatest games ever. I'm splitting up this list between new games released this year, and old game that got new ports/revisions this year.

1. Streets of Rage 4: The return of the king baby. A masterpiece. This is a beat em up that excels at every aspect important to being the hype genre known as brawler. A rich, rewarding combo system that rewards experimentation bordering on fighting game levels, gorgeous visuals that brings out the best of the urban setting, a banging soundtrack to get you hyped up, lots of great and fun characters to play. All wrapped in an sleek punk aesthetic that just breeds cool. Streets of Rage 4 is meticulously paced to keep in you engaged and having fun every single second of game time. Not only that, but the level design is so addicting that it literally keeps you wanting for more; on top of telling a story without actually saying anything. Exploring the streets for clues, getting arrested, breaking out of jail, and hijacking a train to reach the enemy lair: the levels flow seamlessly from one to the next that I found myself beating in one sitting multiple times. In fact, it became my preferred way to play. And considering that I have the attention spam of a squirrel, it's the b


2. Hades: I really wasn't much of a roguelike fan. I only really played the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games and that was it. That was until Hades. I didn't want to play Hades, it wasn't until literally all of my internet friends were playing and never shutting up about it that got me to play it. Thanks friends. Speaking of friends, Hades is as much about friendship as it is about beating demons up. As you constantly try and fail to reach the surface, you engage in conversation with all the residents of Hades' household. These conversations added an element of personality and charm to the game that honestly separates it from other rogue likes. There is the intrinsic desire to beat the game and reach the end, but if I fail then a pleasant conversation with my gay boyfriend awaits me. That's not say that the game itself is only secondary to the story, absolutely not. Hades' greatest achievement is how much a simple joy it is to just pick up and play. The 30 minutes it takes to complete a run feels like a story with it's ups, downs and plot twists. And considering the crazy amount of options you have at your disposal, playing the game becomes self expression at that point. You can play as a spell caster, shield thrower Captain America style, with your bare fists or simply tear enemies apart with bear claws. The game is truly special and a masterpiece.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition: As I get older, I find it harder and harder to get into these massive 100 hour jrpg's. I always have a soft spot for this genre but it has become increasing difficult for me to enjoy them. But this year Xenoblade Chronicles reminded me of why I love this type of game in the first place. I already wrote a huge gush post on here previously so I'm going to resist temptation to do that again and to just quote all the funny lines. Instead I'll just mention the single best thing this game does, its characters. Simply put, this game has one of if not the best party out of any jrpg. Shulk, Dunban, Riki, Reyn, Melia; they are all wonderful characters that feel truly lived in the world they inhabit and bring interesting perspectives to the party's dynamic. I could listen to these characters talk all day, and I did, as I sought out every single heart to heart in order just keep enjoy their company. Beating the game and saying goodbye to all these amazing characters left me with a unique emptiness in my being that I had not have in years. Born in a world of strife! Against the odds! We choose to fight!! Blossom dance!!!

4. Dicey Dungeons: Goddamn this game is a treat. Thankfully these lists can be submitted in 2021 cause this might have not made the cut otherwise. One of the last games I played in 2020, but undoubtably one of the best. Dicey Dungeons is about a select group of weirdos get that stuck in the weird and wild world that is the dicey dungeon. Set in this gameshow-esque hellscape, these characters get turned into dice themselves and try to beat the dungeon in order to win whatever their heart desires; whether that's a book of hidden knowledge, more social media followers, or simply a big truck lmao. The game is very lighthearted with it's presentation, but don't let that fool you into thinking the game is lacking in depth. The gameplay is based around, what else, turn based gameplay involving dice. There are six characters to play as and they have their own unique take on the formula. The Warrior character, is pretty straightforward where rolling higher number dice means you do more damage. The thief character is all about getting and duplicating lower number dice to attack more often, an interesting take on the "low damage, many hits" dps archetype. The witch character has a spell book where you assign specific dice to those spells. All the characters are excellently designed and a blast to play as. Not only that but each character has 6 unique campaigns they go through that adds further twists and turns to the dice gameplay. This game is a champion of taking a single idea and running absolutely wild with it. It's constantly adding more and more concepts until you are simply overwhelmed by how much great content could be squeezed out of a single design element. And I'm going on record and saying this game has with a doubt one of the greatest soundtracks ever. The game is crowning achievement in clever game design that will remain ageless and enduring. Please play this game.

5. Moon: Oh boy. I'm gonna make this one short cause I don't want to cry. I'll just say that this game is one of emotional, personal and introspective games I've ever played. It also has some of most personality and unadulterated charm I've ever seen in a video game. In this game you are simple kid playing a typical jrpg from the 90's when suddenly you get sucked in and start to inhabit the game world. Quickly you find out that not every thing is what it seems and maybe the so called "Hero" of the game might doing more harm than good. This game's beauty is multifaceted and evident in every element, but its strongest in its NPC interactions. Here witness characters struggling with grief, depression, addiction, domestic problems, love, and purpose, NPC's with human emotions. I'm not going to say much more but if this sounds even a little bit interesting, please play this game. It's a celebration of life and its joys.

6. Pac Man Championship Edition NES: It's technically a new game that came out in 2020, so it counts! It blows my mind that a de-make of a game turns about to be better than the original. The NES edition cuts out all the fluff that made CE 2 so bloated and the unnecessary elements from CE 1. As a result we end up with a game that is the definition of all killer no filler. We all what pac man is, but champion edition takes that formula and cranks it all the way up to 11. Instead of slowly going around eating pellets on a fixed map, CE has Pac Man explode across the stage at incredibly fast speeds. Not only that but the stage also evolves and changes based on how you play, meaning that no 2 runs will turn out the same. The same applies to the ghosts too, now they'll chase you down at top speed with no remorse. All this adds up to a simply magical gaming experience that will have you mesmerized from the moment you press start. The NES version is just a tighter, more refined version of that winning formula. The sense of momentum and speed creates an addicting gaming environment where you'll want to play over and over. It helps that runs are also like 3 minutes long!

7. Mr. Driller DrillLand: Another definitive version of an arcade classic. I love Mr Driller but I'll admit that the original game loop is not the most endearing to me. What elevates this particular version of Mr Driller to goat status for me are the different game variants. There's a Mr Driller variant where instead of just drilling down towards the end, you're a treasure hunter going down a cave. So on top of having to drill, you have to collect treasure and avoid all the traps along the way! It makes for a nice twist where you have to pay special attention to where you're going and the cascade effect drilling certain blocks will cause. The crown prince of this package however is the roguelike Tower of Druaga variant. In this mode you play as the knight Anna looking for the captured princess Susumu, Druaga captured him and now it's up to you to save him! Not only do you go drilling down, you also explore different rooms of the castle, looking for the key to Druaga's lair and eventually fighting him. Another element that this variant so cool is the inclusion of gemspells. Now you collect spells that you can use to teleport to different areas of the castle and to defeat enemies. Actually you can only beat Druaga if you have the right spell! This all leads to making this version of Mr Driller and much strategic and immersive experience. Mr.Driller is good, but this game variants elevate the experience to something special.

8. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics: This is a high quality riichi mahjong client with internet made by Nintendo themselves. This is basically a dream game come true for me. Being able to play Mancala and Presidents was also a great treat. Also this gets bonus point for finally teaching me how to play shogi and Hanafuda. This is one of those games that will also be installed on my Switch and that'll randomly lose an afternoon to.

9. Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion: Look, Crimzon Clover is already one of my favorite games ever. I'd probably rank it higher than anything else I've mentioned so far. However, I'm not evaluating this as a whole package game, but more so as an enhanced version. The biggest addition this version adds to the vanilla experience is the premium arrange version. Shmups with great well designed modes for intermediate players are so rare that every time I see one I must celebrate it. Premium Arrange is not as hard as the original arcade version but it's also not as easy as the beginner novice mode. Not only that but it adds a unique rank management adaptive difficulty setting where certain behaviors during your run will make the game easier or harder. This is adds a special twist to Crimzon Clover that is not present in any other version. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for rank management in my shmups so this was a no brainer for me. The addition of a new music soundtrack, good options and the ability to save replays of your runs means that I can confidently say that this is the definitive version of one of the greatest games ever.

1. [Switch] [Beat 'em up] [DotEmu] Streets of Rage 4
2. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [Switch] [Action RPG] [MonolithSoft] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
4. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Distractionware Limited] Dicey Dungeons
5. [Switch] [Adventure] [Love-de-Lic] moon: Remix RPG Adventure
6. [Switch] [Arcade] [M2] Pac-Man Championship Edition
7. [PC] [Puzzle] [Bandai Namco Entertainment] Mr. Driller Drill Land
8. [Switch] [Party] [Nintendo] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
9. [Switch] [Shooter] [Yotsubane] Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion
   

 

[beatoangelico]

I'm the kind of person that very rarely buys a game at launch so the list will be short. Thankfully with Gamepass I can at least try some more new releases. Anyways...


1. Death Stranding

I'm just around the midgame but this is clearly my choice for #1. Unlike most PS4 players I knew almost exactly what I was going to play: a post-apocalyptical delivery sim mixed with a strange, self-indulgent plot and mythology, and I'm very much on board on both counts.
It's somewhat saddled by an excess of exposition and wordiness, which I guess is used to guide the player among its many unusual gameplay systems, which may very well be redundant if played on normal difficulty but playing on hard I think they really came on their own (MULEs still give me trouble more often than not); despite that the gameplay loop is generally relaxing and wholesome, which I think was the desired result.
I'm not a long-time Kojima fan (I've only played around half of MSGV) but this really a big-budget "auteur" game and thus almost unique in today's landscape, and so far it works.


2. Hades

The indie darling of the year, and with good reason. I won't elaborate much since the game has been so widely praised.
I'm a Supergiant fan since Bastion and I knew I could not dislike the game as I already liked the action combat mechanics and upgrade system of that game and this is really the same, only faster, more responsive, with more options. I also generally enjoy roguelikes so really the game should have been really bad for me to not enjoy it.
Played some 60 hours, beat it with almost all the weapons, than I kinda dropped it. Even if I don't come back to get to the true ending, I'd still rate it very highly.


3. Crusader Kings 3

Played on Gamepass. I've been a Paradox fan for a very long time, I followed them through their ups and downs, but since Crusader Kings 2 they have been on a hot streak. CK3 is probably the best 1.0 version Paradox has ever made, and I really did not expect that.
There is some unnecessary "streamlining" but some of it is welcome and they smartly doubled down on the stuff that has always worked better in CK (which is also why the CK has been their best series), which is character development and inter-personal relationships, essentially the sort-of-RPG part of the game. Even the updated graphics of the characters add a lot of charm.
Some of the stuff doesn't make much sense ("knights" killing hundreds of soldiers by themselves) and the sim part of the game is still very much focused on an idealized French high feudal world (where are the monk orders and the self-governing cities?), but this is an old problem which is not easily solved.


4. Gears Tactics

Played on Gamepass. As the reviews have generally noted, this is straight up XCOM clone, but a very good one! It actually introduces several improvements (like directional overwatch and line-of-sight visualization) on the proven formula which Firaxis should take note for XCOM 3.
This is the kind of game that I would never bought as I'm not a Gears fan and I never liked its visual style. It kinda runs out of steam in the third act but despite that it's an extremely well thought game, much more accessible than XCOM but (on hard) with just enough challenge to keep it interesting even without the strategic layer.
I may have put it above CK3 if not for a serious technical problem which I suffer on my system: with low (2 gb) VRAM the game instead of dropping fps like every other game it instead refuses to load the textures, resulting in pixelated shadows and a blurry mess on close-ups. It's not even consistent since sometimes it works but 70% of the time it doesn't.


Honorable mentions: Ori and the will of the wisps; Yes, Your Grace. Both played on gamepass but did not play (like) them enough to put them on the ballot.

1. [PC] [Action] [Kojima Productions] Death Stranding
2. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [PC] [Grand strategy] [Paradox Interactive] Crusader Kings III
4. [PC] [Turn-based strategy] [Splash Damage] Gears Tactics
   

 

[effingvic]

1. Persona 5 Royal: So nice, I played it twice (because I screwed up 100 something hours later and then restarted). Love the cast and story. This was my first Persona and I'm definitely a fan of the series now.

2. Ori & The Will of The Wisps: A significant improvement upon the incredible Ori 1. Beautiful game with an amazing soundtrack and level design. I cried buckets.

3. 13 Sentinels: One of the rare instances where a super convoluted and intricate plot spanning eras completely sticks the landing. Brilliant story with okay gameplay but its absolutely a must play.

4. Dragalia Lost: Probably the game I spent the most time playing this year. I came for a simple way to kill some time and stayed for the charming visuals and really fantastic writing.

5. Doom Eternal: I needed to lie down after that final level but what a trip. Cant wait for more.

6. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: Great to see this cast return.

7. The Last of Us Part II: Great sequel to a great game.

8. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Stunning visuals but I just wish we got the full package.

9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Charming and arrived at the perfect time.

1. [PS4] [RPG] [Atlus] Persona 5 Royal
2. [PC] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
3. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
4. [Mobile][Action RPG][CyGames] Dragalia Lost
5. [PS4] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
6. [Switch] [Hack and slash] [Omega Force] Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
7. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
8. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
9. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
   

 

[SteveWinwood]

1. Risk of Rain 2 is the best video game I've played in years. Every time is exciting and interesting. The whole thing is genius and I wish more games just let you break them entirely in fun ways.

2. Factorio contributed to many nights staying up too late just so I could finally get the stupid robot network to work.

3. Monster Train I enjoyed more than Slay the Spire. I don't really know why to be honest. But it's super good. I need to go back to it and play more, they've added a lot of stuff!

4. Golf with your Friends I think is super overlooked. It's incredibly fun and there have been many drunk Friday nights with... well friends... golfing.

5. Disc Room was just a really enjoyable time. I binged through it in a day and I loved every minute of it.

6. Paradise Killer was also a fun day. The characters are pretty memorable.

7. Noita is on here because I respect it. I'm not good at it, I'm not even sure if I actually like it. I think I do... but damn do I respect it.

8. 5D Chess was super fun to try and explain to friends. I didn't even play it that much. I just love that it exists.

9. Jackbox is always a good time. 7 is no exception.

10. I feel obligated to put Fall Guys on here. I played too much of it to not to. I had fun most nights with friends. But there are a lot of things I don't like that they did and are still doing so I can't really put it any higher. I hope it improves in 2021, it has a lot of potential.

1. [PC] [Roguelike] [Hopoo Games] Risk of Rain 2
2. [PC] [Simulation] [Wube Software] Factorio
3. [PC] [Roguelike] [Shiny Shoe] Monster Train
4. [PC] [Sports] [Blacklight Interactive] Golf with your Friends
5. [PC] [Puzzle] [Terri,�Dose,�Kitty,�JW] Disc Room
6. [PC] [Adventure] [Kaizen Game Works] Paradise Killer
7. [PC] [Roguelike] [Nolla Games] Noita
8. [PC] [Turn-based strategy] [Thunkspace, LLC] 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
9. [PC] [Party] [Jackbox Games] The Jackbox Party Pack 7
10. [PC] [Party] [Mediatonic] Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
    

 

[Equanimity]

I accidentally shared my post before including the votes. Please delete if possible.

 

[Equanimity]

The Last of Us Part II is a technical tour de force. The complete package is quite possibly in a league of its own, I have never seen highs this high. What an accomplishment.

Doom Eternal is the best first person shooter I've ever played. It's chaotic yet satisfying. Rip and tear, until it's done.

Ghost of Tsushima is a love letter in the form of a video game. I probably spent close to 60 hours in this world, that is exceedingly rare in my case.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is as memorable as my time with the original. This entry holds a special place in my heart because it was my first RPG experience on the original PlayStation.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a fantastic entry for Miles as your friendly neighbour. Insomniac is clearly reaching for the stars and it shows.

Yakuza Like a Dragon is a bold new direction for the series, and one I believe pays of in the end. Ichiban Kasuga is no Kiryu, and that's a good thing if you consider how wacky this game gets.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a delightful challenging comeback of this classic franchise.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a visual and platforming treat. Moon Studios shines bright with this sequel.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was my jam on the original PlayStation. This faithful reconstruction is commendable, love it.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is a really good action-adventure-puzzle open world. I loved my time with BotW, Fenyx is the closest thing to that in the console space.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [XBO] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
3. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
4. [PS4] [RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy 7 Remake
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
6. [XSX] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon
7. [PS4] [Platformer] [Toys for Bob] Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
8. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
9. [XBO] [Sports] [Vicarious Visions] Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
10. [XSX] [Action Adventure] [Ubisoft] Immortals Fenyx Rising

 

[Crazy Steve]

1. Ghost of Tsushima: Sucker Punch with the best japanese game of the year.
2. Demon's Souls: Bluepoint made the best Souls game and beat From Software in their own game. Don't believe me? Look at Metacritic. (No. Bloodborne does not count.)
3. FF7R: My favorite FF game since Dirge of Cerberus. Nomura masterclass.
4. Xenoblade Chronicles DE: Why make new games when you can sell old games to your starving fanbase for $60? Old, good JRPG.
5. Nioh 2: Like Dark Souls but with good combat.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
2. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
3. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
4. [Switch] [Action RPG] [MonolithSoft] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
5. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Team Ninja] Nioh 2
   

 

[Nazgûl]

1. The Last of Us Part II - No other games has put me through so much emotions, and think no other game will ( I hope I'm wrong). Sure , it has some things that dissapointed me, but I wouldn't change this game for any other, never. Naughty Dog stills the only developers that make games that I would blindy buy. It has been like 6 months since I finished it, and I'm still think about it. I will always think about that hug that never happened and never will.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II

 

[wiggler]

10. Valorant
Valorant is a pure competitive first person shooter. Riot took the basics of the classic FPS, Counter-Strike, and mixed in the hero based team composition from modern competitive games. Heroes make each game a unique experience. The commitment to competitive integrity and anti-cheat are a great look for a team so focused on creating the next big competitive game. The pinpoint accuracy and extremely quick time to kill certainly make Valorant tough for new players to get into. If you're not one of those with years of muscle memory built up from playing CS for years you'll probably have a bad time starting out, but throughout the year, Riot has been adding game modes to help get those skills honed. In my experience, the community isn't too toxic. Since Valorant's beta, I've been playing with my friends and having a good time with it. I certainly see this game being a mainstay in the competitive multiplayer community for years to come.

9. Astro's Playroom
I lucked out, and got a PS5 pre-order. On release day, I opened that box and hooked up that massive console to my TV, and booted up Astro's Playroom. And what a pack-in game this is! The game is clearly meant to show off all the features of Sony's new console. It mostly demonstrates the new features of the controller, but also the fundamental improvements over the previous generation. Astro wraps all that up into a brilliantly fun 3D platformer. I don't have a PSVR, so I never got to try out the Astro Bot Rescue Mission, but I heard all the hype surrounding it. Astro's Playroom shows that Sony's Team ASOBI have the chops to make great 3D platformers, and I hope they continue doing just that, just with a bigger budget and maybe without the tech demo ulterior motive. In fact, recently playing through Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on Switch, I'm really missing the instant respawn. Mario in 4K wouldn't be too shabby either.

8. Ghost of Tsushima
The last hurrah of the PlayStation 4. Ghost of Tsushima finally answers the question that people have been asking Ubisoft forever: "What if we had an open world checklist action game set in feudal Japan?" The team at Sucker Punch heard those asking (probably not, lol), and delivered a fantastic experience with this game. Taking directorial cues from samurai films, and using what they've learned developing the Infamous games, they flexed their artistic and technical direction. The Island of Tsushima provides beautiful backdrops to every duel, outpost, and any other activity. It makes checking them all off interesting even if you've become an absolute Khan crushing machine by the end of the game. I loved the title cards that bookend every mission just to show off that almost every place on the island is gorgeous. On top of a fantastic single player campaign, Sucker Punch just pulled a multiplayer mode seemingly out of nowhere, titled Legends, a few months after release. It even has its own fantastical style (giant floating, beating hearts wtf!?). More games need PvE modes, I love mastering the mechanics of a game I've enjoyed, and then joining up with friends and being badass together.

7. Cyberpunk 2077
I, like many others, was hyped to all hell for Cyberpunk 2077. It's a setting we don't see too often in games, especially an action RPG from the developer of the revered Witcher game series. What could go wrong? Apparently hubris and mismanagement. I've been let down by games before. I will be let down by games in the future. It's the inevitability of the cycle of hype that runs through this industry's veins. I think I have (luckily?) grown immune to it. So even though Cyberpunk 2077 wasn't the groundbreaking sandbox action RPG we imagined in our heads. It was still a great game with heart. Now, I don't think my experience with Cyberpunk was as marred with issues as others. I went through the game the stealthy hacker route, and doing so let me search every nook and cranny of Night City. This game is FILLED with details. The characters are interesting, and some of the quests take them in wild and unexpected ways (Joshua Stevenson, what the fuck?). The fundamentals of the game mechanics are fun, the stealthy hacker ones at least. I thought the concept of the story was great, and I got a kick out of listening to Keanu's character's asides during the game's optional content. I genuinely hope CD Projekt Red sticks with this game and gives it the effort it needs. The Night City they built, and the artists and designers that built it, deserve it. All the iterations of the Cyberpunk tabletop game take place in Night City, so fix/polish it up, and pump more content into this game. Maybe with some branching narrative!

6. Final Fantasy VII Remake
The PlayStation 4 was my first PlayStation. Final Fantasy XV was my first Final Fantasy (That I actually completed). Final Fantasy VII is a much better game. I had started the original Final Fantasy VII a long time ago, and played just enough of it such that there were a couple scenes in the game that gave me the slightest suggestion that I had been there before. With that knowledge, and whatever I had acquired through osmosis, I played through this JRPG. I didn't remember the original FF7 having any fate ghosts, but I chalked that up to just not correctly remembering. Turns out I was right, and there are a LOT of changes in this "remake". FF7R was a great experience even for someone like me. The characters are charming, and narratively, the game takes some intense turns. I know a game's music is good when I seek out some track from the original soundtrack and listen outside of playing the game.(That Old Wall Market song is so good) The real time combat system is a lot of fun, and is flashy as hell when you got your whole party popping off their special abilities. I'm looking forward to cleaning up some of the missed tidbits in the recently announced PS5 version. This game might also have the most thumbs ups I've ever seen in a game, and this is only the first part! 👍

5. DOOM Eternal
The reception DOOM Eternal got from some critics and fans didn't seem as enthusiastic as DOOM (2016) so I initially passed on it at release. Don't get me wrong, I love DOOM (2016). I cite it as a great example of a game with great aesthetic consistency. It's the opposite of ludonarrative dissonance. The story, visuals, audio, and game mechanics all blend into ludonarrative harmony. It just so happens the harmony it achieves is PURE VIOLENCE. DOOM Eternal achieves that same harmony, but builds on it in every aspect. The story is grander, the music somehow hits even harder, there are more enemy types, and varied environments. There are also more mechanics. DOOM Eternal is a much more complex game than its predecessor. Eternal requires the player to be aggressive, and use every one of the tools available to survive. Every chaotic encounter is a mix of resource management, constant movement, and the violent obliteration of every demon in the immediate area. The game truly shines during real tough encounters where you are teetering on the brink of death, such that when you finally complete a particularly challenging fight, you FEEL your victory. Especially those with a damn Marauder. DOOM Eternal is the ultimate violent video game. It is also a beautiful example of game design. I was mentally drained after each session playing it, and I loved it. Maybe those who were lukewarm when it first released just weren't ready for what the game asked of them?

4. Demon's Souls (2020)
The folks at Bluepoint know how to remake a game. I adored their remake of Shadow of the Colossus in 2018, and having just barely started original Demon's Souls on PS3, I eagerly awaited getting my PS5 to slam my head against the wall playing another Souls game. Bluepoint took the original game and with their relatively new art team and expert tech, they pushed the production values of Demon's Souls to modern AAA. The environments are beautifully dreadful, and the symphonic renditions of the soundtrack just make playing Demon's Souls a sublime experience. The fluid 60 fps and fidelity help reveal the brilliance of From Software's original design that has affected games since.

3. Half-Life Alyx
City 17 exists in my basement. For the past 15 years, I have revisited Half-Life 2, and it's episodes, every few years. It is one of my favorite games, and it still holds up to modern games mechanically. With the release of each Half-Life game Valve has had a reason besides just selling and making revenue. The first Half-Life showed the industry how first person shooters can have an engaging narrative, Half-Life 2 demonstrated fully interactive physics, and then slapped a gravity gun in the player's hands and said: "Go wild." I think this is the reason it has been so long since we've had a new Half-Life entry. Valve has been very involved in the recent VR renaissance, so it was only a matter of time until they developed a full budget VR game, and someone decided it was grounds to attach the Half-Life name. Immersion is a word folks use frequently when discussing games, but it's usually used to describe interactivity of the environment. Immersion in VR is implicit, in that the player actually embodies the character they are controlling. Alyx is very similar to HL2 in that Valve slapped a gravity gun in each hand and let the player loose on some fantastic, well crafted environments. The writing is great, the art and design makes me wish Valve put out more games, and the encounters are engaging because you are actually(virtually?) in them. Interactivity quickly becomes natural and it is a delight from start to finish. Also, Fuck Jeff. Fuck Jeff so much.

2. Hades
I don't play too many roguelites, and they are a dime a dozen in the indie space, but Hades may be the best one I've ever played. They way Supergiant Games have woven the narrative progression in and between runs should be applauded. Beyond the normal progression in typical roguelites, upgrading skills and the player actually just getting better at the game, events get triggered by different aspects of the player's last run. Maybe they defeated a boss for the first time, or you met a new character for the first time. After a run, there was always new dialogue with characters, new random events to witness. The writing is fantastic and makes each new occurrence a treat. I got to the end numerous times, and even spent the time to see the epilogue, and the game was still surprising me with variations and events that I hadn't seen in my ~80 hours with the game. Underneath the narrative was a solid roguelite in its own right. Each of the environments has unique enemies, mini-bosses, and events. The game has multiple weapons each with multiple aspects to unlock that change the style of play required to get through to the end, which are even further altered by the Boon you receive from the gods. On top of that, there is a system for adjusting the difficulty to unlock more currencies and bump up the challenge. The art and music are amazing. Hades is an expertly crafted game.

1. The Last of Us Part II
Naughty Dog have created maybe the most brilliantly realized post apocalypse we have seen in a game. The astounding amount of polish and work that has gone into every detail is an achievement in itself. After release, I read two, multi-part Twitter threads describing the design and technical challenges that went into the way the characters breathe. The author described how different contexts affect the characters virtual heart rate, and how it is exhibited through audio and visual feedback. It blew my mind. Besides the ludicrous amount of details in animation and art. The Last of Us Part II is a brilliant work of game design. Each combat encounter has the player utilizing stealth and the tools at their disposal to get past, or through, the obstacles in their way. These obstacles are either the predictable infected, members of different factions that the player faces through the game, or any combination in between. Much like DOOM Eternal, TLOU2 is at it's best when the player is desperately fighting moment to moment, slipping in and out of stealth, picking up what little scrap littered throughout the area, and cobbling together a strategy to get the edge over their enemies. The human enemies are smart, they will hunt for you when you kill one of their named friends, and even use dogs to sniff you out. This game stresses you out and I haven't even begun to talk about the narrative. No game has ever made my stomach turn because of the actions of the player character. I understood why the characters do said things, and maybe in those situations I would have done the same things, but it doesn't mean I feel good about seeing them committed. The game's theme of hate and desperation is felt throughout the narrative and mechanics, pumped full of heart, talent, and let's face it, budget, Naughty Dog have created an amazing meditation on the cycle of hate and violence.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [PC] [Action Adventure] [Valve] Half-Life: Alyx
4. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
5. [PC] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
6. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
7. [PC] [Action RPG] [CD Projekt] Cyberpunk 2077
8. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
9. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
10. [PC] [Shooter] [Riot Games] Valorant
    

 

[shoptroll]

4. Moon: Remix RPG Adventure - This one really shows it's age, so while it's not for everyone it's definitely an experience I've tried to point people to in the last year if I think they would be receptive to it. I'm incredibly thankful for Onion Games finally giving this game a long overdue release outside of Japan because it feels like a gaping hole in the Japanese RPG scene has been finally filled for us. It's not the best game that released this year, but it certainly was the Important one for me.

3. Monster Train - A delicious melange of deckbuilding roguelike and Plants vs. Zombies style tower defense. I'm absolute trash at it but damn if it doesn't feel good when you get a good deck going. Probably the one game I've played most recently where I really wish I had more hours in the day to play games because I would love to get back to this if I didn't have other games with higher priority.

2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - I don't think this really improved much on the formal laid down by New Leaf, and my understanding is that in some ways you're still more limited than in that incarnation, but whereas New Leaf fell out of my rotation (despite purchasing on the eShop so I didn't have to juggle cartridges) after a month or two I'm still checking in regularly with New Horizon even if it's been a bit more sporadic lately. I don't know if this is due to being able to play the game on a TV, the impact of C-19, or if it's a result of approaching games in a much more relaxed and laidback manner in the last couple years but New Horizons has seriously clicked with me in a way its predecessor did not. And while I don't think it's the best game I played in 2020 it was certainly the one I played the most of.

1. Hades - After Transistor I fell off the Supergiant wagon for a bit. Not because I didn't like Transistor, far from it considering it's one of the few games on Steam I've 100%ed, but I picked up Pyre at launch and never fired it up. So when Hades was announced as an open access title I was skeptical about diving in and opted to wait until launch. Launch came and went and I finally picked it up on Switch when I was looking for something new to play for the T-Day holiday. And I'm so glad I did! I'm not great at it, and after probably 15-20 hours I still have yet to defeat [redacted], but within the first 15 minutes I was in love with everything about this game. Playing Hades has been like reconnecting with an old friend you haven't seen in years and things magically picking back up where they left off. But more than that it's also been great just to see the little bits and pieces from past games finally coaelescing into a wonderful experience that finally connected with a wider audience. I can't think of any other studio that came swinging out of the gate and has steadily honed their craft with each subsequent release. I eagerly await to see what comes next from them.

Spoiler: Honorable mentions (excluded due to ineligibility)

HM1. [PC] [RPG] [Unproductive Fun Time] OFF - Last year I was introduced to a LISA: The Painful RPG when I got into a discussion about games similar to Earthbound (that weren't Undertale) with someone at work and it was their recommendation alongside OFF and OneShot. After finishing Moon I remembered that, in addition to Moon, OFF was another source of inspiration for Undertale and I thought it was a really good time to finally check out OFF as a potential foil or counterpart to Moon. I'm glad I did so because OFF is a trip but definitely a little bit rough around the edges in places. And to be brutally honest, did a bunch of things before Undertale or even BioShock which I found really interesting.

HM2. [PC] [RPG] [thecatamites] Space Funeral - And following from OFF, because hey if I'm going to play one subversive RPG Maker titles this year I might as well tackle the king while I'm at it... It's short, it's ugly, it's interesting, but mostly just downright weird. I don't think this hit me nearly as hard as I expected it to from some of the writings I've read about it, and I think it was too dry mechanically to keep my interest. But this was definitely worth experiencing at least once even though I think it would've been better to watch an LP with commentary or something instead.

1. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
2. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. [PC] [Roguelike] [Shiny Shoe] Monster Train
4. [Switch] [RPG] [Onion Games] Moon: Remix RPG Adventure

 

[wideface]

edit.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

1. 13 Sentinels.

My favourite game this year by far. It just kept getting better and better the more I played. It was very well written with great structure and it is able to twist your expectation really well. It also had amazing visuals, one of the best soundtracks this gen and a fun combat section.

2. Streets of Rage 4

I never expected a fourth game to come out and be this good. It is the perfect sequel. It evolves the series yet still feels like a SOR4. Not a cheap imitation. I love how much risks they took with it. Also shouts out the music and the art style.

3. Ghost of Tsushima

The samurai game I always wanted. It was a blast from start to finish. It had amazing visuals, great story and characters, awesome music. The combat is one of the best out there. They delivered so well on the promise. I also love the way they designed the open world.

4. The Last of Us Part 2

I hated the first game. I was salty the delay made Ghost of Tsushima come later. Yet, when I did play this game I had to eat crow. It delivered an awesome story and the gameplay is one of the best last gen. It is close to MGS5 in how amazing it feels to play. The risks they took in the story were well done and very interesting.

5. Doom Eternal

A great sequel to Doom 4. It improved on everything aside from the story. The level design is much more engaging. So is the movement mechanics. The new additions to the combat loop were very welcome. The difficulty was just right and the fan service was awesome. And who could forget the music and the visuals, both were even better. Great game.

6. Dreams

Not much to say about the game that haven't been said already. It is mind blowing to see the crazy stuff people made. Some of them feel like their own games. It is that good. Thought the thing that surprised me the most is the story. It was so good. If I bought just the campaign I would have felt it was worth it. So the fact you get a creator with it just makes for one of the best packages ever made.

7. Hades

I haven't beaten it yet but let me tell you, this is one of those games that you can't really find any flaws. It is so well made and does everything it wants to do right. From the characters to the gameplay to the art style. It is amazing.

8. Final Fantasy 7 Remake

I give this game a lot of shit. It is very bloated, the new additions are very forgettable and boring. The level design sucks. With that said, it is a blast whenever it gets going. The combat is one of the best in a JRPG. The characters are voice acted really well (though I could live without all those grunts). So yeah, it is worth being on this list even with it's issues. Well worth playing.

9. Resident Evil 3 Remake

What should I say about this game? It was really disappointing. It is much worse than the original at pretty much anything other than the characters and the graphics. It is worse than REmake 2 and it is really frustrating to think about it. With that said, I still had fun with it. It is a fun game if you forget it is a remake of RE3. Provided you get it on sale and can overlook it's problems it is one of the most fun games in the series. Well worth playing.

10. Demon's Souls Remake

I have only played this when I visted a friend's house. With that said, I did play the original and the new additions in the game make it even better. They nailed pretty much everything so you are getting a smoother, better looking game of the original. Biggest flaw it has is the soundtrack being worse than the original.

The game would be higher if I could play the full game and had a PS5.

1. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
2. [PS4] [Beat 'em up] [DotEmu] Streets of Rage 4
3. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
4. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
5. [PS4] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
6. [PS4] [Game Creation] [Media Molecule] Dreams
7. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
8. [PS4] [RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy 7 Remake
9. [PS4] [Survival Horror] [Capcom] Resident Evil 3 Remake
10. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
    

 

[Unicorn]

1. Tenderfoot Tactics - A marriage of Morrowind's sense of exploration and weirdness and Final Fantasy and Tactics Ogre's tactical class-base strategy encounters led me on an 80+ goblin journey to explore an abstract archipelago
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 800+ hours in and I'm still playing daily. While it isn't at feature-parity with earlier entries it does provide more customization than any other entry.
3. Umurangi Generation - No better game to inadvertently comment on the past year than any other. Photography and apocalyptic themes combine to make a unique and unsettling experience.
4. Noita - An old flash game from the early 2000's that focused on the physical interactions of particles via materials represented by grains of sand - but they found a way to turn it into a roguelike with intense combat and really fun spell creation and mixing through wand-crafting.
5. Going Under - It takes the corporate art style seen among Silicon Valley giants and crafts a dungeon crawler with great tongue-in-cheek parody of those same corporate megaliths.
6. Mini Motor Racing X - An excellent party racer and it has a super immersive VR experience!
7. Crusader Kings 3 - The first glimpse of the next giant grand strategy.
8. Spellbreak - A BR game that uses spells and elemental reactions to make every combat encounter gorgeous and chaotic.
9. Jet Lancer - Luftrausers, but with some more narrative and a few really fun boss battles. Some encounters felt really hard to get the highest accolades on.
10. Hades - I fell off early, but it plays very well and Dusa shot into my heart like Cupid's arrow.

1. [PC] [Turn-based strategy] [Ice Water Games] Tenderfoot Tactics
2. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. [PC] [Simulation] [ORIGAME DIGITAL] Umurangi Generation
4. [PC] [Roguelike] [Nolla Games] Noita
5. [PC] [Roguelike] [Aggro Crab] Going Under
6. [PC] [Racing] [The Binary Mill] Mini Motor Racing X
7. [PC] [Grand strategy] [Paradox Interactive] Crusader Kings III
8. [PC] [Battle Royale] [Proletariat] Spellbreak
9. [Switch] [Shooter] [Armor Games Studios] Jet Lancer
10. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
    

 

[Tryptobphan]

I only played one game in 2020 that I think deserves game of the year. I played some other big hitters, but I either didn't finish them (e.g. Resident Evil 3 Remake, 13 Sentinels, Hades, etc.) or I just felt that by the end they weren't as enjoyable (Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Crash 4, etc.).

Yakuza: Like a Dragon - With that said, Yakuza 7 is the best game I've played all year. It managed to surprise me by having a main character with a great supporting cast of characters that endeared me to their cause and brought me into their story. I honestly didn't expect the main character to live up to the Kiryu Kazuma, but it ended up being the new main character AND his friends that managed to steal the show. It wasn't one person making Yakuza 7 amazing, but an entire cast of characters. It had a solid crime drama story alongside fun and quirky quests that made me spend way more time in the world than I was expecting to. I'm looking forward to future adventures with Ichi and friends.

1. [PS4] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 

[Odoru]

1. Hades – Supergiants best work by leaps and bounds, and probably my favorite indie game since Spelunky. Darren Korbs best soundtrack, an amazing gameplay loop with fantastic characters and a surprisingly endearing story. Its safe to say I'll be going back to Hades from time to time.

2. The Last of Us Part 2 – Despite some issues with the story, I think this is a better game than its predecessor, and probably Naughty Dogs best outing from a gameplay standpoint. Really great set pieces and stealth gameplay on top of the polished graphics and music.

3. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim– Great art and music, and the tower defense sections are light, but enjoyable. Story mostly sticks the landing, and is impressive with how well it weaves a bunch of sci-fi storylines together while doing so. One of my favorite experiences of the year sitting down with my wife to play a few hours a day, and speculating on where it was going next.

4. Streets of Rage 4 -- A worthy successor for the series; was a blast to go through with different characters and online with friends.

5. Yakuza 7 – The switch to turn based combat was a little rough around the edges, but overall I think it works. Ichiban is a fun protagonist, the side quests are a blast, and the story was solid Any game that
I can send a chicken, a roomba, and a chimpanzee into a board room meeting is a good time in my book.

6. Huntdown – Fantastic side scroller that pays homage to retro games of its vein while adding some iterations to stand out from the pack. Shout out to random folks in the Nintendo Eshop thread; as I had never heard of it until I happened on it in there!

7. Astro's Playroom -- A short pack in game for the PlayStation 5 was one of my favorites for the year, with its enjoyable platforming and a showcase for various features of the system. My friend and I had a blast competing against each other for high scores, and it never got old to see various games or hardware from PlayStation history as collectables or Easter eggs.

8. Doom Eternal -- Not sure whether I'd put this above Doom 2016 due to a few quibbles I had, but in the end it's more of a game I love, with some interesting mechanical changes. I'm looking forward to the second story DLC dropping to dive back in.

9. Ghost of Tsushima – Almost a comfort food style of open world game for me. Really doesn't do anything innovative or new to the genre, but the commitment to its fantastic setting and art direction helped to elevate it. Bonus points for the excellent (and free) multiplayer mode added a couple of months after release.

10. Animal Crossing New Horizons – A game that I have a ton of issues with, but allowed me to connect and play with friends during the start of the pandemic. I'll forever cherish the moments of playing together with my wife, and visiting our friends islands with all of the experiences that followed.



Shout outs to some other games for honorable mentions:


I wish I had played more Spelunky 2, as what little I've played seems excellent. I'm about a third of the way through Nioh 2 and its sublime combat would probably get it onto my list if I had finished in time. Wasteland 3 would have been in my top ten but I stopped due to a bunch of technical issues, hopefully those are ironed out because what I played was great! Finally I just wanted to give praise to Final Fantasy 7 Remake; it didn't make my list but it's great, and way better than it probably has any right to be after so many years of speculation and build up.

1. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
3. [PS4] [Adventure] [Vanillaware] 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
4. [PC] [Beat 'em up] [DotEmu] Streets of Rage 4
5. [PS4] [RPG] [Sega] Yakuza: Like a Dragon
6. [Switch] [Platformer] [Easy Trigger Games] Huntdown
7. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
8. [PC] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
9. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
10. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
    

 

[MrPickles]

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - The best antidote to COVID-19 lockdown, I bought a switch just for this game. My first ever AC game and I'm still playing it every single day, with 1200+ hours in it so far. It needs a lot of QoL fixes but boy is it just so darn cute and fun.
2. Ghost of Tsushima - No it's not perfect, but I loved the combat and world and spent way too much time in it and getting the platinum. My first platinum in a couple of years, I think.
3. Astro's Playroom - Pure delight. I'm so glad this game exists.
4. Sackboy: A big adventure - I really loved playing it, and maybe more than previous LBP games.
5. FIFA 21: I have a love/hate relationship with this game but I've put enough time into it that I might as well rank it here.
6. F1 2020: Maybe the best part of this is racing on the tracks that didn't actually host races in 2021 and, in one case, may never exist? Fuck covid :( :(

1. [Switch] [Simulation] [Nintendo] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
3. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
4. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sumo Digital] Sackboy: A Big Adventure
5. [PS5] [Sports] [Electronic Arts] FIFA 21
6. [PS4] [Racing] [Codemasters] F1 2020
   

 

[Andvari]

1. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
3. [Switch] [Action RPG] [MonolithSoft] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
4. [PS4] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
5. [PS5] [Action RPG] [Ubisoft] Assassin's Creed Valhalla
6. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom

 

[More_Badass]

1. Desperados 3 - Mimimi solidifies itself as the new king of real-time tactics with this cleverly-designed story-driven Wild West stealth game
2. The Last of Us Part 2 - A fantastic follow-up story-wise, an even better evolution of the first's scrappy stealth-survival
3. Ori & The Will of the Wisps - Bolder, bigger, more fluid, more gorgeous than the original in every way. A comforting yet challenging platformer
4. Jet Lancer - A vibrant spiritual successor to Luftrausers, imbued with the spirit of Ace Combat and DMC precision
5. Noita - Spelunky received a direct sequel this year but Noita is its greatest descendant yet. The joys of emergent gameplay and predictably unpredictable chaos
6. In Other Waters - An alien ocean brought to life through stellar UI design and a captivating sci-fi tale
7. Creeper World 4 - The most unique tower-defense/RTS series around enters the third dimension, taking its surging foe and frontline strategy to new heights
8. Beautiful Desolation - A weird-sci-fi adventure-game sprawl set among a fascinating far-future South Africa
9. Snowrunner - An impressive improvement to Mudrunner's rugged suspension, once again nailing a distinct balance of off-road zen and tactile mud-clogged tension
10. Carrion - A creature-feature power fantasy that's as gooey, gory, and satisfying as that concept sounds

1. [PS4] [RTS] [Mimimi Games] Desperados III
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
3. [PC] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
4. [Switch] [Shooter] [Armor Games Studios] Jet Lancer
5. [PC] [Roguelike] [Nolla Games] Noita
6. [PC] [Adventure] [Jump Over The Age] In Other Waters
7. [PC] [RTS] [Knucle Cracker] Creeper World 4
8. [PC] [Adventure] [The Brotherhood] Beautiful Desolation
9. [PC] [Simulation] [Saber Interactive] SnowRunner
10. [PC] [Horror] [Phobia Game Studio] Carrion
    

 

[Hilarious_Bearious]

1. The Last of Us Part 2 - If you want proof that video games are art, this is it. Art is meant to make you feel things, and this definitely made me feel things. These feelings were rarely good, but it was a wild ride that left me with a lot to think about. On top of this, the voice acting was superb, the audio design was amazing (that rain!) and the graphics were shockingly good.
2. Ghost of Tsushima - Assassin's Creed and Arkham Knight had a baby that was raised by Sekiro. What's not to like? The combat has a beautiful rhythm to it that just sings when you get it right, the stealth was fun and the storynahd quite a powerful ending. In top of that, the game world is absolutely stunning. The amount of stuff moving on screen looks impossible for the base PS4, but here we are. There were times where I felt like I was playing a samurai movie, and that was great.
3. Crusader Kings 3 - I'm not so big on the crusading part, but boy is it a wild ride trying to become and stay king. I love how this game is always an unfolding story that never fails to amuse and entice.
4. Fuser - a fun DJing experience with some neat social aspects. While the campaign mode can be a bit hectic, when you manage to pull a sick mashup together it feels very rewarding. The track list is also varied and excellent.
5. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - I never thought I'd like a musou game, but here we are. While I didn't love the ending, the overall story and gameplay were hectic fun.

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
3. [PC] [Grand strategy] [Paradox Interactive] Crusader Kings III
4. [PC] [Rhythm] [Harmonix] Fuser
5. [Switch] [Hack and slash] [Omega Force] Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
   

 

[mrmickfran]

1. Doom Eternal - RIP AND TEAR BABY
2. Hades - Glorious gameplay in a glorious setting
3. The Last of Us: Part II - Fantastic gameplay and an engaging story
4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Beautiful world, Fantastic music and just fun to control
5. Persona 5 Royal - Persona 5 + more, what else could I ask for?
6. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - Xenoblade + more, what else could I ask for?
7. Nioh 2 - Best gameplay in a soulslike
8. Final Fantasy VII Remake - It's a tad too long but the production that went in can't be ignored
9. Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Swinging is still the best movement in gaming
10. One Step From Eden - Mega Man Battle Network is back and I couldn't be happier

1. [PS4] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
2. [Switch] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
4. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
5. [PS4] [RPG] [Atlus] Persona 5 Royal
6. [Switch] [Action RPG] [MonolithSoft] Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
7. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Team Ninja] Nioh 2
8. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
9. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
10. [PC] [Roguelike] [Thomas Moon Kang] One Step From Eden
    

 

[nStruct]

1. DOOM Eternal - DOOM was my game of the year 2016 and my hype for Eternal couldn't have been higher. Eternal takes the gameplay aspects of 2016 that I love and expands on them in ways that I find extremely satisfying. The moment-to-moment decision making that happens in intense arena fights is rivaled by no other game. The game asks a lot of the player and overcoming the challenges it presents is very rewarding. Eternal easily takes the top spot for me this year and sits on my list of favorite shooters of all time.
2. Hades - Every weapon is fun to use, the sheer volume and variety of powers make every run fun and unique, and the characters are interesting. Hands down Supergiant's best game, and one of the best roguelikes to ever be released.
3. Ori and the Will of the Wisps - A beautiful follow up to the wonderful Blind Forest. It retains the great platforming of the original and really improves upon the combat system. A great time from start to finish, and I can't wait to see what this team does next.
4. Demon's Souls - My least favorite Souls game got one of the best modern remakes. Bluepoint did such a wonderful job that it helped me appreciate this game more than I did back in 2009. The quality of life improvements go a long way to lowering the frustrating and making it a much more enjoyable experience.
5. Immortals: Fenyx Rising - An awesome take on the Breath of the Wild format. This game is pure fun from start to finish, I found joy in completing all the side distractions along with the main questline.
6. Ghost of Tsushima - A well-told story and memorable characters that all lead up to a satisfying conclusion. I went for the platinum and still found myself wanting to be in that world even more.
7. Half-Life Alyx: The best execution of this type of game in VR. Clever puzzles and interactions throughout the game, the Jeff chapter really stands out as a memorable VR experience. Also just nice to have a new entry in the Half Life series.
8. Final Fantasy VII Remake - A great remake of my favorite Final Fantasy game. The combat, the music, and the attention to detail all stand out.
9. The Last of Us Part 2 - A great follow up to one of the best games of the previous generation.
10. Spider-Man: Miles Morales - A fun and focused Spider-Man experience and a great way to break in that new PS5.
11. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 - An incredible remake that finally nails the feel of these older games.
12. Astro's Playroom - A fun platformer and great showcase for the DualSense.

1. [PC] [Shooter] [id Software] Doom Eternal
2. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [XBO] [Metroidvania] [Moon Studios] Ori and the Will of the Wisps
4. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
5. [XSX] [Action Adventure] [Ubisoft] Immortals Fenyx Rising
6. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch Productions] Ghost of Tsushima
7. [PC] [Shooter] [Valve] Half-Life: Alyx
8. [PS4] [Action RPG] [Square Enix] Final Fantasy VII Remake
9. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
10. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
11. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
12. [XBO] [Sports] [Vicarious Visions] Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2

 

[nampad]

Like most years, voting comes too early for me as I have barely played anything, let alone finish, games of 2020. So this list is of my current impression of the games.

1. Cyberpunk 2077
Even though there are so many bugs and poorly thought out mechanics (e.g. police) this game somehow got its hooks into me like no other for a long time. The setting and atmosphere of Night City paired with the at times jaw dropping graphics (playing at RT ultra settings) are something special.
Sadly, this could have been so much better.

2. Spider-man Remastered
Didn't play the game on PS4 before and was really excited for the PS5 release. The core gameplay is just fun, I can swing around endlessly and the combat works well.

Unfortunately, it sometimes overstays its welcome with an a bit too long campaign and some too long encounters. The boss fights were quite weak, only really enjoyed one and some were horrible due to the encounter design and camera issues.

3. Spider-man Miles Morales
From what I have seen so far, it seems like a great sequel. The graphics put on a notch and the RT 60 fps mode is so smooth. I also like Miles so far as a character and the music is great.

4. Dirt 5
An arcade racer that is right up my alley. Unfortunately there are not many like this anymore so this makes it even more special.
Can look either great or a bit flat depending on the time of day but the 3D audio feels good in this game.

5. Fall Guys
Such an easy concept and yet somehow you wonder why no one did it before.
Seeing the game just makes you want to play it.

6. Dreams
Mm holds a special place in my heart. Seeing what some people create in their games is just incredible.

7. Astro's Playroom
Nice introduction into the Dualsense. It's a fun platformer and free :)

8. Demon's Souls
Barely played it so far but I am adding it for the graphics alone. It also having a 60 fps mode is also great.

9. PES 2021
Kind of sad how this roster update is still the best football game on the market. Hooe they can deliver this year.

10. Super Bomberman R Online
The Battle Royale game classic now with the number of players of new BR games.

1. [PC] [Action RPG] [CD Projekt] Cyberpunk 2077
2. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Spider-Man: Remastered
3. [PS5] [Action Adventure] [Insomniac Games] Spider-Man: Miles Morales
4. [PS5] [Racing] [Codemasters] Dirt 5
5. [PS4] [Party] [Mediatonic] Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
6. [PS4] [Game Creation] [Media Molecule] Dreams
7. [PS5] [Platformer] [Sony Interactive Entertainment] Astro's Playroom
8. [PS5] [Action RPG] [BluePoint Games] Demon's Souls
9. [PS4] [Sports] [Konami] eFootball PES 2021 Update
10. [Stadia] [Party] [Konami] Super Bomberman R Online
    

 

[riskyhand]

1. The Last of Us Part 2 - My expectations for this game was high and Naughty Dog exceeded it. Hands down one of my most favorite games ever. Fantastic graphic, engaging story and voice performance with one of the best third-person gameplay. To this day I still think about this game.
2. Hades - Never played roguelike before, but I'm glad the GOTY buzz convinced me to try it and boy I'm so glad 'cause this game is ADDICTING!
3. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout - Another big surprise in 2020. An insanely fun game to play.
4. Resident Evil 3 Remake - The original RE3 was one of my favorite RE titles ever. While the cut content was disappointing, I still think it's an excellent game.
5. Ghost of Tsushima - Beautiful world, amazing visual, great soundtrack. The combat is okay I guess .

1. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Naughty Dog] The Last of Us Part II
2. [PC] [Roguelike] [Supergiant Games] Hades
3. [PS4] [Party] [Mediatonic] Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
4. [PC] [Survival Horror] [Capcom] Resident Evil 3 Remake
5. [PS4] [Action Adventure] [Sucker Punch] Ghost of Tsushima

 

[Dreenk]

2020 was an absolutely horrible year. Controversial statement, I know. Despite everything that happened, I found this to be a very good year of releases, and had a pretty tough time shaving it down to a list of 10. Through quarantine and beyond, most of the games here helped keep me somewhat sane.

Click to shrink...

Awesome post, and especially awesome Crosscode write-up. It was hands-down my GotY in 2018 and one of my favorite games in a long time. Seeing the praise in this thread coupled with the DLC that just released is finally going to make me replay it - which I've been wanting an excuse for for a while now. Cheers!