Top 5 games I played in 2020

It's that time of the year again. To put it lightly, it's been a heck of a year for everyone. On the positive side, I managed to play more games than last year. Still could have been a lot more, considering the time off I've had, but I still call it a win. Heck, I even played a few games from THIS year.

Note: I'm not going to finish Cyberpunk 2077 this year, so it'll be in consideration for next year's list. Its absence isn't me snubbing it. In fact, I'm enjoying my time with it. The higher-ups at CDPR REALLY messed up, there's no getting around that, but they did a good job with the game itself. I just don't feel it's fair passing judgement without having completed it first.

List items

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  1. Hades

  I was initially on the fence about buying this, as I thought the combat might be a bit too much for my dyspraxia. However, after enjoying watching streams of other people playing it, I decided to take the plunge...and I'm very glad I did! I've put hours into this game. There's just so much variety, thanks to the boons, weapons, and the ever-changing layout of the underworld. In addition, the attention to detail with the story and aesthetic goes far beyond most rogue-likes. It thoroughly deserves all the plaudits it's been getting.

  At the time of writing, I have yet to get the 'credits', but considering the nature of rogue-likes, I think I've played enough to pass judgement on it.

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  2. The Outer Worlds

  I actually played most of this towards the end of 2019, as it was free with the brand new PC I bought. I had already compiled my 2019 list when I started it, so I waited until the new year to complete it, so that it would be eligible for this year's list. It would have been a shame if I couldn't give it the credit it deserves.

  While The Outer Worlds is generally shorter than most open-world RPGs, it isn't a bad thing by any means. I think it allowed them to craft a universe full of character and numerous surprises. I completed all of the companion side-quests, as I found each of them to be very interesting. My personal favourite was Parvati, due to how relatable her awkwardness was. The gameplay was pretty fun, too, and I liked the various paths you could take for most of the missions. I highly recommend checking it out, if you haven't already.

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  3. Final Fantasy VII Remake

  As a huge fan of Final Fantasy VII, it was nice to finally get my hands on the remake earlier this year. It personally didn't disappoint me. It was pretty much an homage to the original game, with some changes here and there. I loved the little nods to original, and they did a great job when it came to remixing the music tracks. It brought back some many fond memories. It's far from perfect (some bosses were unclear and rough), but then very few games are. I'm looking forward to seeing where the reimagined story goes next.

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  4. Doom Eternal

  Doom Eternal is basically more Doom (2016)...with some added extras to ramp things up! As with the previous title, I enjoyed my time with it. Some parts were extremely tough, but nothing that made me tear my hair out (yes, even the infamous marauders!). I also appreciated the mechanic which made things a bit easier if you died a lot in an encounter. It only applied until the end of that encounter, so it allowed me to carry on without turning down the difficulty for the entire game. A small thing, but nice to have.

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  5. Life Is Strange 2

  I was finally able to experience this earlier in the year, as all the episodes were out by that point. Once again, it delivered a solid narrative with plenty of twists and turns. There was also one or two bits that made me feel uncomfortable, which just goes to show what a good job they did with the characters. I kind of wondered if I'd enjoy it as much without Max and Chloe, but the Diaz brothers were incredibly likeable, too. I'm definitely up for experiencing more Dontnod stuff.