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Biggest gaming surprise of the year so far

giallo

giallo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,313
Seoul
It's been a pretty good year of gaming given the circumstances, and with titles being delayed, and other aspects of the hobby flying by the seat of its pants, it's always nice to play a great game that kinda came out of nowhere.

For me, it's Huntdown. Like, goddamn does this game hit all of the right buttons; amazing pixel art, neon dystopia, great gameplay loop, fun boss fights, really good sound effects and music, perfect for 10 to 20 minute gaming sessions.

I'm shocked by how polished Huntdown is. It's just so well thought out. Everything is performing at a AAA level for a retro indie game.

 
Uzupedro

Uzupedro

Banned
May 16, 2020
12,234
Rio de Janeiro
Out of nowhere, fun as fuck and ''for free''.
fall-guys-review.jpg
 
lobdale

lobdale

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,010
streets of rage 4 was actually like... not only the best SOR game but maybe the best beat em up of all time

and FF7R despite not being "ff7 again" kicked super mega amounts of ass
 
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,630
If you told me a The Walking Dead game would be my GOTY 2020, I'd have laughed at you in the face.
 
Lulu

Lulu

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,138
FF7R being really fucking good
 
Stoze

Stoze

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,610
XCOM Chimera Squad. Announced and revealed on April 14th, came out on April 24th. Can't get much more surprising than that, and I really enjoyed it.
 
JediTimeBoy

JediTimeBoy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,811
Avengers. Was not considering this until next year when Spidey would be available, but the beta had me.
 
Ryuelli

Ryuelli

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,209
Nexomon: Extinction

I had never heard of this game until 2 weeks ago, but I'm loving it so far. It's definitely a Pokemon clone, but it does enough things differently to still have it's own identity, most notably not really locking you out of any areas, at least now that I've seen so far. I actively encourages you to get out, catch things, and explore. It also has a neat system where "tamers" will rebattle you every 15 minutes or so instead of being one and done. It has some gorgeous art too.

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nexomon-extinction-switch-screenshot05.jpg
 
sn00zer

sn00zer

Member
Feb 28, 2018
6,186
One of my favorite action RPGs ever. Incredible mechanics, great enemy design, fun universe. One of my favorite games this gen and I'm day 1ing any sequel.
71o0FG%2B%2BnaL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
Josh5890

Josh5890

I'm Your Favorite Poster's Favorite Poster
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
23,725
-Pokemon Snap announced
-No general Nintendo Direct to this point
-It is September and we do not have launch details for the next gen systems
 
J_ToSaveTheDay

J_ToSaveTheDay

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
19,015
USA
Discovering CrossCode this year for its console release has been really cool. That game speaks to me on a lot of levels, and I only realized after its console release was impending that it had actually a pretty big base of praise from its earlier PC launch.
 
hydruxo

hydruxo

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,616
CrossCode for me. I didn't even know what it was until I saw people talking about it on here. Amazing game.
 
Cosmic Voyager

Cosmic Voyager

Banned
Oct 24, 2019
6,560
The fact that we're ~2 1/2 months away from consoles launching and we still don't have release date or price yet lol
 
TheGreatMightyPoo

TheGreatMightyPoo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,070
giallo said:
It's been a pretty good year of gaming given the circumstances, and with titles being delayed, and other aspects of the hobby flying by the seat of its pants, it's always nice to play a great game that kinda came out of nowhere.

For me, it's Huntdown. Like, goddamn does this game hit all of the right buttons; amazing pixel art, neon dystopia, great gameplay loop, fun boss fights, really good sound effects and music, perfect for 10 to 20 minute gaming sessions.

I'm shocked by how polished Huntdown is. It's just so well thought out. Everything is performing at a AAA level for a retro indie game.

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Great game and you're basically doing the same thing every level with little platforming.

Just think how good a sequel could be with those mechanics and more varied level design...
 
Pascal

Pascal

▲ Legend ▲
The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
10,288
Parts Unknown
Streets of Rage 4 being as great as it was. There was also Spiritfarer, felt like that game came out of nowhere and ended up being great as well.
 
DeliciousSunnyD!

DeliciousSunnyD!

Member
Oct 31, 2017
9,661
CRASH BANDICOOT 4. I haven't played this yet, but just judging by all of the footage they've released, I know this is it.



A true, high quality sequel to the original Naughty Dog Crash games that looks hard at what makes them so revered with a focus on lots of content and challenge is EXACTLY what a fan of this series has wanted for 20 years.

Outside of the Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil 2 remakes, it is one of the biggest, most far fetched long term desires of mine and it's actually happening and looks really good! Can't wait to play it and hope I'm not disappointed.
 
Cipher Peon

Cipher Peon

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,950
The Last of Us Part II.

I played the original before it and well...it's like fine enough, but I thought it was the most boilerplate story imaginable and uninspired. Then TLOU2 blew me away. Absolutely loved the story, gameplay, tone, and how intense it could be.

ELLIE WAS RIGHT AND DID NOTHING WRONG
 
ClickyCal'

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
60,300
TLOU Part 2 being even better than I expected going in, which was already expecting great. Became my unanimous GOTG.
 
Silvergun-Blue

Silvergun-Blue

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,998
Snowrunner.

Not normally my kind of game but I picked it up after seeing a couple of videos and i needed something new to play during lockdown. Fun vehicle handling is what really makes the game so engaging and I'm surprised at just how different all the trucks feel to one another with many of them having their own little quirks that make you form attachments to them.
But I'd say the real stars are the maps and how surprisingly intricately designed they are, I've played open world RPG's that were less fun to explore than this off roading game!
 
Aaron D.

Aaron D.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,385




ATM it's a tossup between Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children and Logistical: Earth.

The first is a crazy XCOM/FFT/Pokemon hybrid out of S. Korea that not only has a ton of content but a ton of heart as well.

The second is also just stupid with content as you connect logistical goods-transport networks across the globe using real satellite imagery.
 
Arta

Arta

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,445
Released: Fall Guys.
Announced: Destruction All Stars and Kena: Bridge of Spirits
 
IIFloodyII

IIFloodyII

Member
Oct 26, 2017
24,431
Fall Guys, literally came from nowhere and been a lot of fun.
Only other games I played from this year was ACNH, which I was a bit surprised by how much I didn't enjoy it due to the controls/UI, it's incredible charm still got like 30 hours, but not played in awhile and no real desire to and TLoU 2 which met my expectations for the most part with some parts less so (really mixed on the side characters, which ND are usually very good at) and other parts much more so (combat, movement and encounter designs where so much better than I was expecting).

Edit: Oh, and not a game I played surprising me wise would be Sony and MS playing chicken for so long I completely lost interest in next gen this year.
 
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Eblo

Eblo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,643
I'll echo the people mentioning Final Fantasy VII Remake. Expected something good, got a fucking incredible, unique experience. I still think about that game every day or so. Nailed it, I know, thank you, moving on.
 
Hokey

Hokey

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,164
lobdale said:
streets of rage 4 was actually like... not only the best SOR game but maybe the best beat em up of all time
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yup! I remember laughing at the art style when it was first shown and its my goty and agreed best beam em up ever. I still think the SOR2 soundtrack is better thou.
 
Mochi

Mochi

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,713
Seattle
After Fall Guys and FF7R, I would give it to Paper Beast (VR game). Had no idea what I was getting in to and it absolutely blew my freaking mind.
 
Musubi

Musubi

Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,919
Avengers actually being pretty damn good.
 
New002

New002

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,721
A tie between Slay the Spire and Chronicon for me, the latter of which I just found out about a few days ago thanks to a thread by Dakkon.

 
NDA-Man

NDA-Man

Member
Mar 23, 2020
3,326
I'll echo Streets of Rage 4. It was a random "huh, its out now on Gamepass, I think I'll check it out" as someone with no real attachment to beat 'em ups in general or SoR as a series.

Holy Hell was it a fun ride--I went back and bought the Sega Vintage Collection versions of SOR 1-3.
 
Demon-69

Demon-69

Member
Oct 15, 2018
1,673
Somewhere
Marvel's Avengers, Everybody and their dog was hating on the game, I bit the bullet and got it and boy is the story mode great!.
 
Xeonidus

Xeonidus

“Fuck them kids.”
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,360
It's gotta be fall guys. Glad more people are playing remnant though. Great surprise from last year. Need to play through the dlc myself.
 
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