I liked these game in < 2020 >
These are some of the fun games I enjoyed in 2020. It's been a slow year for me.
List items
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Released: Mar 11
I really liked the first Ori because of it's unique mix of platforming and metroidvania map progression. Will of the Wisps builds on everything from the first game to create another excellent adventure wrought with emotional moments and gorgeous graphics.
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Released: Mar 20
Generally I had mixed feelings about Eternal as the change in the formula was not something that spoke to me - ultimately though I did have some high octane fun through this very lengthy shooter. Maybe not the fun I would have preferred but you can't deny that when Doom is firing on all cylinders it's in a league of it's own, it's just a shame that Eternal feels like the developer took all the wrong cues for what made their 2016 debut such a hit.
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Released: Jun 19
I really enjoyed the much more refined gameplay and cinematic feel of the entire experience. While the story didn't have that same shocking singular moment this time around, it was a slow burn and something to think over once I was done. As far as these single player, movie-like experiences go Naughty Dog is still leader of the pack.
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Released: Jul 23
Devolver continues to publish weird, and often macabre indie games and Carrion is no different. I didn't really get that whole "reverse horror" twist that the marketing was leaning so hard on but I did think it was a unique and very stylized approach to the classic metroidvania formula.
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Released: 2018
Gamepass provided respite between major released and one of those games I finally decided to try was Mutant Year Zero which turned out to be a really fun strategy game with some light RPG mechanics. I really liked the post-apocalyptic world but with weird animal hybrids setting and generally enjoyed their unique blend of turn based combat mechanics.
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Released: 2018
Another 2018 gem - Monster Hunter is a game I was intimated to try because of how many weird systems it seemed to have. While it took some effort to parse through it all with the help of youTube tutorials and Wikis once I started getting the hang of things this game provided countless hours of fun. I'm at the "end" of the main campaign and this is about 30 hours in, and I know there are hundreds of hours more I could potentially pour into it, not even mentioning the Iceborne expansion.
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Released: Sep 2019
After really enjoying the first game I was eagerly awaiting this sequel but when it came out something about it didn't sit right with me. Once I did finally get around to it I had a blast. Surge 2 is a faster paced, sci-fi Souls-one-of-those and I love that about it. I love all the different weapons, the systems, the builds that you can play around with and how the primary limb severing mechanic ties into every other aspect of the game. Keeping my fingers crossed for a third one.
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Released: May 2019
This was a really interesting small adventure game. I enjoyed the role reversal of being the AI on the ship instead of the human, and the plethora of weird anachronistic computer interface mini games. The story had me guessing and after a rather grounded start the game certainly ends with a flourish.
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Released: 2019
This Switch released made it's way to Gamepass and was a real pleasant surprise. The graphics alone had me hooked and in a way after a few heavy games it was a pleasant retreat to run around summer resort islands and solve some basic puzzles while sporting a Hawaiian shirt.
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Released: 2016
I'm not sure what drove me to play this but ultimately I had a fun time. FF XV is unlike any RPG or Final Fantasy game I've ever played. Everything about it from combat to the world design and story seems disjointed and weird. Yet there is fun to be had and at the time I played the game had undergone several major patches that were aimed at improving the overall flow of the story among other things (it is still a confusing mess).
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Released: Dec 2020
All bugs and developer drama aside, I played this game on PC and experienced mostly cosmetic issues and actually had a really fun time exploring the world and doing "cyberpunky" stuff. A year or two down the road I imagine this will be a pretty good experience for most people and it's a shame that it came out in such a messed up state, both because of the harm it did to consumers that unknowingly purchased an unfinished game and because it forever tainted any rational discussion about the actual product itself divorced from all the drama.
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