My list of games I played in 2020. Some games will be repeats as I play them throughout the years. Some games may be repeated from previous years because I never finished it or got around to playing it when I bought it. Making a genuine effort to actually finish more games this year.
Played this a few times with friends over the years, but never owned it until I got it on Switch a few years back. Going to try finishing it this year.
First game I played on New Years Day. No particular reason. I bought it on sale on the Switch e-shop years ago and never actually played it.
I didn't like the Netflix series, but it made me interested enough to buy the original game for $2. It is ROUGH...
I played this on PC years back and stopped mid-way, never getting around to it. I found it super cheap on Switch so I figure this is a good way to force me to finally finish it.
Finally started and finished it in February. I enjoyed it. Some choices seemed less important than they should've been, but it was mostly well-written. Feel bad for Harvey. I liked it, but the Switch port is very badly optimized.
DONE
Finally got around to playing this. Ain't nothin like a Funky Beat!
DONE
Dad of Boi.
After years of being mesmerized by its soundtrack, I finally played and beat this in a single sitting. Wonderful short game.
DONE
Finally got around to playing Tekken 7. Been meaning to play it for a long time. It's a lot of fun.
Interesting indie game. I love the premise and the art direction, but it can be a bit janky at times. It's kinda like Strider. Story is interesting, but I dunno why the game keeps trying to make you ignore it entirely (I called the plot twist early). Not bad and I love how this entire game starts with Grandma thoughtlessly downloading obvious viruses.
DONE
Getting back into this. This is the only good Monster Hunter game. Fight me.
Also finished the main story and enjoyed it.
DONE
C'mon and SMASH and give Nintendo CASH! Still playing.
Still playing.
Still playing.
Started and played on stream one night with friends. Dry as hell as a solo experience, but fun with friends.
Went into this immediately after finally finishing the first Telltale Season on Switch. I liked the interesting dynamic with Joker and the new role as Bruce. That being said some of the plot felt a bit less focused this time around. I enjoyed it.
DONE
Played this for the first time while teaching Masters students for the Hand-Eye Society's workshop on Alternative Controllers that I was Co-Teaching. We used it to demonstrate the Xbox Adaptive Controller and the 3D Rudder Interface. Takes some getting used to for the 3D Rudder, but it's neat.
Played on Switch. I loved the concept and found its world building sensibilities through a cab driver fascinating... But its brilliance is undermined by it forcing you into decisions you don't want at times and Savy, the other female character that drives the plot. The game forces you to go along with Savy's schemes and petitions you to empathize with her, but that's impossible considering she acts like a sketchy sociopath from the start and only gets worse.
It's a great experience, filled with quirky characters and fun conversations with passengers... But in the end is ruined by Savy being the absolute worst.
DONE
Played on iPhone. A short, charming, and emotionally compelling story about a girl named Florence. It becomes a relatable and heartbreaking stroll through life. I am a sucker for media that can tell compelling stories without a single word and this game does it amazingly. I also love how it designed contextual interaction and animation to drive the entire game. Highly recommend it.
DONE
Finally got around to finishing JoJo Cop. Pretty hype game, but not Platinum's best. It's still really great though and I like the mechanics of using your Stand/Legion. The Plot is a bit all over the place and eventually becomes JoJo Cop: Neon Genesis Niervangeleon Revengence.
In Platinum's Cabinet full of Platinum and Gold Trophies, this is about a Silver. It's still a super solid game.
DONE
Haven't played Under Night since the first game briefly on PC. Didn't grab me then, but I think it plays a bit better now in this iteration and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Byakuya & Eltnum are still my mains.
DONE
I liked the first game years ago, but was bummed out by the lack of online. Now a new entry is here and... Still no online... Really? I mean the game is good, but still.
DONE
The perfect game at the perfect time to wait out the 'rona. Can't go outside and see your friends? WELL NOW I'M GOING OUT TO VISIT THEIR ISLAND! WHATCHU GON' DO 'RONA?
I've only played this a handful of times with friends years ago. Now I'm playing this on stream to raise money for hospitals fighting COVID-19. What a world...
Also played this for COVID-19 Relief. Got it since Jackbox was giving it away for free at the time. It's a more polished version of Drawful and it has some great stream support. Lots of fun to be had.
Its trailer looked so fun... Too bad the end product was an immense disappointment. Unpolished all around, bland levels and design, and you can't even notice the allure, your long growing bus, until it's actually a chore to maintain. It's just so... Dull.
It's serviciable as Vanguard's basic answer to Duel Links, but as someone who actually knows the rules of Vanguard, the modified rules of Vanguard Zero are somewhat throwing me off. Also not sure if this is aligned to original or V-era, but I am glad they're adopting V-Era style effect writing structure and icons to make it less confusing. Tutorial's kinda bad though. Hoping some of my favorites will get added at some point.
Finally played Jet Set Radio/Jet Grind Radio, on the original Dreamcast no less. I got it from a friend last year and played though it on stream for the first time. It was an... Interesting experience and now I forever will call it Police Brutality The Game.
I have never played it before and I went into this with little expectations. It feels super clunky to play and controls pretty terribly, which makes many very simple gameplay tasks difficult. I don't think this game was fondly remembered for its unique, but flawed gameplay but rather its exceptional art direction and music score that still holds up tremendously. I also happened to get its sequel, Jet Set Radio Future, at a dying game store last year and haven't touched it yet, so hoping to stream that at some point as well.
Here's a collection of my stream playthrough: https://www.twitch.tv/collections/b_uqQA6zCBZNwA
DONE
The second game I've finished on stream and the subject of a COVID-19 Charity Stream where I played DOctor to support real Doctors. Enjoyed the game, but the difficulty spikes can be absolutely brutal. The characters and world were fascinating and there was many parallels to real world events. Ironically, this game was made over a decade ago, when the current pandemic of the coronavirus, similar to its outbreak of the Stigma virus, could not have been imagined. I enjoyed the game overall and have proven I'd be a terrible doctor.
DONE
Just started. Got Collectors Edition with the Artbook. More thoughts on this later.
I played the Switch demo a while ago and found it really interesting, especially with Touch Controls. It was cheap on sale on the Nintendo e-shop, so I bought it. The touch Gameplay is fun, however... Just about ALL of it is very obscure J-Pop, which is fine and I recognize there's a culture divide here, but I recognize just about nothing besides the Shovel Knight theme. Menus are stylish, but very barebones and its hard to navigate quickly. I'll get use to the music as I play more I guess, but its menus are a mess. Gameplay is nice though.
An interesting, if poorly optimized mobile game. Took me MONTHS to play this game because it has a very common glitch that freezes you on the intro screen. Only way to dispell it is to trick it by using a VPN. SNK & Netmarble have no clue how to fix this problem.
Otherwise, it's an interesting run of SNK and KOF lore. I love the guest events it's holding. I missed the Tekken event due to the glitch, but I got in just in time for the WWE event. Now I can use the People's Champ to Rock Bottom Terry Bogard's candy ass into the ground! It's worth it for that alone.
Despite the fact that the ZOE HD Collection is prone to slow-down and crashing, I really liked this game. ZOE 1 felt kind of incomplete as it experimented with ideas, but ZOE 2 felt like the better game. It's still short and not much longer than the original, but tells a stronger, if somewhat poorly explained story and the mechanics are more refined to deliver a high speed robot combat that the original struggled with. It is a lot harder than the original, which was a breeze.
The characters do need some fleshing out, but were overall much better than the first game. Leo was your average gundam protagonist, but Dingo has an interesting character arc and his interactions with his handler Ken make them feel like an arguing old couple, which is fun. Mech designs are great as usual and Anubis is as terrifying a machine as it was in the first game. Several scenes are memorable and empowering, especially the Battleship level. I would love to see a ZOE 3 though the story felt more or less complete after this game though it could use an epilogue. As fun as the game is, the main obstacle is the OCD Camera and lock-on which can completely screw you over at points and make it hard to hit desired enemies.
8/10 would potentially buy the recent VR Remaster to play again.
DONE
Full disclosure, I have not played a single Mortal Kombat game since the original on SEGA Genesis, but MK has kept seeping into my life recently and I've been in awe witht he guest characters the franchise recieved over the years. With the Switch version at half price for a Summer Sale, I caved and bought it.
Just getting into it now, though there is a notable visual downgrade. Feels much different than most Fighting Games...
Played this again after playing the first game on it years ago and not playing the second game, despite meaning to. Since ZOE2 has a Black Protagonist, I decided to play it for a Black Lives Matter Charity Stream. Thoughts on the game below.
DONE
Begun playing this game on the Remastered Edition on PC. I backed the Kickstarter, so I got it early. Have yet to play through it all again.
It's definitely missing out on not having the Wii U Gamepad, but it runs even more Wonderful than before.
It's short, it's charming, it's challenging, it's funny, it's free. Highly recommend going to hell and collecting your harem with this.
DONE
A synisthesic assault of the senses in the best way. It's engaging. It's abstract. It's great! It's hard to really describe this game conceptually, but it's definitely worth playing.
DONE
My only gripe is that you always die in a single hit, which kinda disjoints the music on restart. Still, it's a great, short game to play and it's full of cool meaning.
Just finished Super Hot. It was SUPER and HOT, but I thinSUPER that it woHOT if SUPER plaHOT iSUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER HOT SUPER
...
...
SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years.
DONE
After watching so many streams of this over the years and buying, but never, playing the PC version sometime ago, I finally delved into this in anticipation of EVO Online... Before that mess got cancelled again.
Don't have a handle on the game yet or a main, but I really like how the combo strings work and how easy it is to both do flashy, cool combos and get out of a long one sided combo. Definitely wanna delve more into this.
The Epic known as PSO2 has finally made its way out of Japan after 8 years. It's a VERY Dense game, with arguably way too many mechanics and menus, but a lot of variety and cool things to do. I've never played a Phantasy Star game, but I'm really digging it so far.
I'm also noticing that the Phantasy Star franchise is likely one of those franchise that other big games basically stole from. Xenoblade Chronicles X and Monster Hunter owe A LOT to this franchise.
FINALLY making its way out of Japan after locking it to the region, BamCo finally localized another Gundam Vs Game. Too bad they went very much out of their way to sabotage its release and wasted 2 months of a fun beta not fixing the netcode.
The game itself is really fun! Nearly 200 Gundams and a lot of quick, multi-layered strategy due to its cost system and unique movesets. It's a much more satisfying package than Gundam Versus. Netcode is spotty, but when it works, it works. I'm super happy I don't need to import this one. I just wish more people knew about it so it would grow more of a community here.
DONE
The stream meme of the summer. It's fun, but I'm kinda meh about it.
Played this entirely on stream to raise money for the Black Legal Action Centre in support of Black Lives Matter. Contrary to what I assumed, it's actually an enhanced alternate universe retelling of Jet Set Radio rather than an actual sequel, with many similar, but different elements.
JSRF is such a giantic improvement over the first game. Most of the complaints I had about the first JSR several months ago were addressed, especially the controls which are much so better. Overall, I highly enjoyed it and I raised money for a good cause. Shout out to the Twitch Chat for helping me through a few sections.
I also tried the JSRF: Multiplayer fan game after. It was a bit buggy, but an otherwise solid online multiplayer experience. It's still in development, so I'm sure it will be an even tribute to this classic. Sucks that JSRF still hasn't been re-released anywhere outside of the Xbox.
DONE
My first foray into the Yakuza Series and the story of Kiryu Kazama.
Overall, I thought the story was actually pretty interesting, if very much rushed by the end and Kiryu is an interestingly stoic character with a sense of honor. However, how the story is told through gameplay is badly paced, which may be because this is a remake of an old game. Combat is poorly explained at the beginning, but interesting when you start getting upgrades and understanding how to use the different styles. Beast & Rush were pretty much my go-tos because Brawler is very meh and Dragon is just Brawler with Counters... If you can level up Dragon. Most of Dragon's skill tree requires you to beat up the eccentric Majima like 50 times as he surprise attacks you from the frew city blocks that makes up the overworld. He started out interesting and challenging to fight against, but once you get decently strong enough he becomes a an annoying bother who just takes time away from doing the more interesting sidequests. There seems to be a lot of dated design in this game that I have yet to discover if it's part of Yakuza proper or just remnants from being a remake.
Overall, I'm glad I played through it but, I'm not in love with the series like some of my friends. Liked the story, but was pretty meh about everything around it.
DONE
Played and finished it last year, but decided to try New Game+. Loving it again.
The Stream sensation of the latter part of 2020... Despite coming out 2 years ago. It's such a simple concept that is really fun to play. I've gotten really good at sussing out who's the imposter... Only for people to think I'm being sus for pointing it out and ejecting me... Motherfuckers.
DONE
Played the new game with friends. It's good fun, but Talking Points is the star of this pack.
Finally got around to playing Transistor after all these years... And I finished it in a day... Which I certainly can't say is a bad thing. We need more short games.
It's okay. I love Bastian, one of the developer's previous works, and Supergiant Games has defintiely nailed their signature style here, adding a Sci-Fi Twist. However I don't think the gameplay nor the story are nearly as strong. The narrative is incredibly confusing as it doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a futuristic Sci-Fi story or ReBoot and stops itself from being either. It was enjoyable and worth playing but kinda left a bad taste in my mouth by the end.
DONE
Trying to get back into this. I played this once after buying it years ago and never touched it again. Probably won't finish it this year, but I'm gonna work on progressing in it. LET'S GO, EEVEE!
Online F2P Splatoon Battle clone with the brightest colored NInjas this side of Naruto. It really is more of a battle focused bootleg Splatoon clone with a bunch of micro-transactions. Gameplay is weirdly inconsistent and is more based on luck than skill. Also the tutorial is literally the game hacking itself onto Youtube so you can watch a very bad youtube video. It's an interesting idea... That really isn't executed very well...
I used to love this as a kid, so I was super happy to hear about the Remaster.
The remaster is alright, but a bit of a disappointment due to the very obtuse way they redesigned the multiplayer. Still, the bones of this game are here and it's classic Crystal Chronicles.
Self-Explanatory. It's the Jump Rope Challenge.
Oh god... I thought I was bad at Tetris 99, but I'm way worse at this. Doesn't speak to the quality of the game though. This battle royale Mario game is a super interesting idea and it's really fun to get into.
Played the Demo of this at work during the Judging for the Wordplay Festival. Can't wait until it's finished.
The Remaster of COD4 was given out for free ages ago for PS+. I've been colelcting those free digital PS+ games, but haven't really played any of them, so I'm starting with this.
The innovative FPS of 2 generations ago, COD4 seems to be where it got the interactive blockbuster spectacle the series is now known for. It's FPS Military porn. Did I enjoy it. Yes-ish. The story has some key iconic moments, but for the most part it's forgettable. Gameplay is solid, but your CPU teammates during the campaign are as much your enemy as your friend as they will get you killed in tight spaces by never getting out of the way when you're trying to find cover. I played Modern Warfare 2 years ago on 360, but never this game and I think that even though I enjoyed the experience (Single Player, because I am absolute trash in any COD Multiplayer mode), Military-style FPS games just aren't for me. Maybe I'll get to MW3 at some point to complete the trilogy, but I kinda had my fill of this game once I finished the campaign.
DONE
Played on Switch. I like the new visual style the Mega Man 11 is going for (beats the faux pixel style MM9 & 10 went for as nostalgia bait) and the game feels great to play... Except when the level design ruins it. The level design in MM11 is really bad overall. While Megaman games are known for their platforming, MM11 has several instances in most of its levels where if you do not jump in a particular spot or at the every end pixel of a platform, you are instantly punished with death, sometimes in instances where you can't necessarily see what's coming. This leads to frustrating "gotcha" instances where the levels aren't hard by themselves, but major faults in a level's design will have you dying many times to the same gimmick, particularly in time-sensitive sections. The Double Gear mechanic is interesting, but I found myself rarely ever using Power Gear as Speed Gear is usually a great help (and sometimes mandatory) in many situations.
MM11 added a backstory as to why Doctors Light & Wily are always so at odds with each other and after playing through the game, I gotta say: Wily was right. Dr Light comes off as such a self-righteous prick after screwing over Wily to insanity for his own ends... All because he wanted funding to make robo-kids. By installing Double Gear into Megaman, Light proves Wily was right from the start and him trying to faux humble the situation for that fact to Wily at the end proved so disengenous, I can't blame Wily for being pissed. I'm on Wily's side now. Light is a prick.
DONE
After buying it on PS1, PC, and now Switch over the past 15 or so years and 37 hours throughout the past few months, I have finally beaten this old classic.
It may show its age, but I definitely appreciate everything this game goes for. The ATB system is strange, but interesting and keeps you on your toes, the characters are great, though they run out of convincing reasons for half of them to join your party, and the story was actually pretty good, for the most part. Even though it's dated, you can definitely see why it was such a groundbreaking achievement back in 1997.
For a game that has had people obsessed with its lore for over 20 years though, it does have an abnormally high amount of plot holes that are never addressed until all the subsequent content made a decade later (Advent Children, Crisis Core, etc) that either fleshes things out or retcons parts of the game completely. Sephiroth is a menacing villain, but he literally runs out of personality in the latter half of the story. Still, I couldn't help but get excited at the final boss fight music and getting Super Nova'd. The ending was a giant blueball though.
I also have to thank the quality of life changes made to the re-release. FFVII is a VERY slow game. Having 3x Speed, Full Power Mode, and Random Battle Off features were a godsend when it came to powering through sectons of the game and griding character/materia levels. Not sure I would've had the patience to get through this game and many of its side quests without them.
Considering my poor track record finishing JRPGs, I'm glad I finally can say I beat this monster of a game!
DONE
An interesting game where you passively play as a Barista who listens to and pacifies customers with their own problems in a fantastical world. Each character and their plight is certainly interesting and compelling to read through. While it is an enjoyable experience, you go VERY LONG periods without actively doing anything besides reading through text. This is fine for what the game aims to accomplish, but it can kill engagement after a while as I would like more interactive opportunities besides brewing coffee. It's definitely saved by the strength of its subplots though.
DONE
Of course, we got Netflix. My entire family has been aping off my subscription for years.
Still playing a bit.
Got this for almost nothing a while back and finally tried it. It's an interesting game, but not my cup of tea. Like the premise.
Still not a fan of Fortnite, but I did redownload it due to the Marvel tie-in. Fortnite may not be for me, but the Marvel powers mode was pretty fun, I'll admit.
