Top 5 games (that I played) in 2020

As we entered lockdown and quarantine due to the pandemic, I assumed I would be able to make even more time to play through the games in my collection to completion, but in reality I hard-committed myself to only a few games. I started or touched a similar number of different games in 2020 as I did in 2019, but I only averaged a few hours with most of them. For me, hour count isn't everything and the quality of my experience overall comes first. But this year, it so happens that I put the most amount of my game time into the top two games on this list, and I loved almost every second of those hundreds of hours between Hades and Animal Crossing alone. I have more than just the below thoughts, since I had such wild times with both games this year that I'll always cherish. Read my blog about it.

This year was also the genesis of my Video Game Book Club (VGBC) with a few friends from work. While we all worked from home, we came up with a fun distraction that allowed us to play some (mostly) single-player titles simultaneously so we could come together once a week to to discuss this common game. I see it as a way to capture and kind of manufacture that feeling that is inescapable when a new, anticipated game comes out and everyone's talking about it online together and sharing all the same feelings at the same time. While none of the games we played for VGBC ended up on my top 5 this year, I really enjoyed my time with all of them in one way or another (except My Friend Pedro, with its constantly-in-its-own-way storyline and just okay gameplay hooks).

In fact, I almost put the likes of Nowhere Prophet and Void Bastards on this list, as I had a fantastic time with both of them. And ALL of the games we played allowed me to experience games I otherwise might feel kind of isolated playing. As far as I can tell there is not a thriving online community for any of the games we played, so it was great to share my feelings about these games effectively by playing it together with my friends. I got to experience games I might otherwise have not been as motivated to play and would have missed out on some of the best, unique moments of my time with any games this year.

Without further ado, here are my top 5 games of 2020:

Oh yeah just kidding, here's the actual GOTY, I agree with @Charalanahzard on Twitter.

List items

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  1. Hades

  [PC + Switch (bless up for cross saves)]

  Two. Full. Years. Of anticipation. Or actually, I should probably say two full years of anticipation + payoff, repeat. Over every update Hades received in early access, the game not only got better and more fleshed out, but there was ALWAYS something new and significant to either the gameplay or story to dig into. When I put Hades on my Top 5.5 Games of 2018 list, I gave it that extra half slot at the end of the list because, even at the release of that initial build, the game was already FUN. Like, really fun. Then, when I gave it another slot on my list in 2019, I was more determined than ever that this game would most definitely top my list upon full release. Perhaps that's a little too self-fulfilled prophecy for your taste, but have you *seen* this game??

  I mean, for me, a Supergiant game is always going to be of note, but Hades is easily their best, most polished, easy-to-recommend title to date. Where a handful of my friends in the past admired Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre as much as I do, they are not for everyone. But when Hades released at 1.0 this year, it took a dozen of my friends by storm with ease. Did it help that I also gifted the game to at least 3 of them? Yeah, sure. But they still loved it!!

  Hades excels in every category from the addicting combat to the can't-put-it-down level of storytelling, inspired art direction, sounds, and fully voiced cast of characters that start off fun enough, but by the end there isn't a single character I don't love to their absolute core. Even you Theseus. Even you.

  Hades is a 5/5, 10/10, basically perfect game that I love and will continue to love and recommend to anyone, even if they haven't asked for it. :D

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  2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

  [Switch]

  I wasn't even an Animal Crossing fan until I tried New Leaf on a whim in 2013, just having graduated college with little to do between working my part-time job at Jimmy Johns and applying for full-time work. New Leaf hit at a time when my life was in transition and honestly I was a bit depressed. I learned the ropes of the game and developed a deep love for the relaxing, wholesome nature of the game and its colorful characters and world. Fast forward a couple years later when my 3DS XL, with AC: New Leaf in it, was stolen during a burglary while my wife and I were out of town over Thanksgiving. I was devastated, knowing that even if I got a new cartridge and started a new town, it wouldn't be the same.

  So, New Horizons was always going to be a day 1 purchase for me. I got fully hyped for its release like the rest of the Animal Crossing community, and was excited to share in the joy of the game again with friends. Then the seemingly impossible happened, and Animal Crossing, a popular, but still somewhat niche game (I thought), became the *IT GAME* of Q2 2020. Like, it's hard to overstate just how much it shook the gaming world upon release. I ran a Discord channel on my server for the game that was getting action around the clock day in and day out, which was unprecedented for my server and friend group chats. Beyond my sister and brother-in-law, my parents also got way into it, even prompting them to get a SECOND SWITCH so that they could each have islands to themselves. My family being so invested is honestly what has made it hard to imagine what 2020 would be without New Horizons. They've kept me going for an embarrassing number of hours, and truth be told, their hour counts either equal or far surpass mine (looking at you, sister of mine😉).

  I love the creativity Animal Crossing allows me to express, how it provides lots of fun, unique moments with villagers, and looking forward to each new season and the events that come with them. There are enough UI frustrations to ward any player off from the game entirely after digging in, but I've come to terms with them. The pros outweigh the cons immensely for me.

  Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a work of art, and if not for my favorite developer completing their best title to date in the same year, it would have easily been my number 1 in 2020.

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  3. Monster Hunter: World

  [PC - Iceborne]

  Y'all know I had to be back at it again. I guess this can't be treated as a "new game" in the franchise, but may as well be. Though many areas are reused and various old monsters are made new again through Master Rank versions and alternate versions, there is more than enough fresh content to go around.

  Iceborne is a great addition to an already great game, and I felt prepared going in, rather than feeling daunted as I initially had with the base Monster Hunter World. The core of Monster Hunter is always the gameplay, and Iceborne really delivers by adding new moves to all weapons and creating new combat opportunities through the clutch claw tool. The monsters are similarly new and fun and I enjoyed having more of that ever-satisfying gameplay loop back in my life, just a few months after really diving deep on the base game initially.

  On top of everything, the PC version now has full parity with the console version, so it remains a great platform for the game to expand a get better. And Monster Hunter Rise is on its way to Switch early in 2021, so GET. HYPE. Cause this next one's got doggos you can RIDE.

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  4. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

  [PC]

  This is a stellar release. It's still a bit unbelievable to me that aNOTHER remaster of these games actually hit the mark, where the one before it and Tony Hawk 5 were failures by all accounts. This remaster "feels like how you remember" the original Tony Hawk games. The controls are great, and I'm having fun learning to do tricks that weren't in the games back when I played them for bigger combos. It truly feels like a gift to 10-year-old me that these exist with so much love put into them.

  This is a nostalgia hit like no other this year. I love it, and I look forward to continuing to play it well into next year and beyond. Fingers crossed for TH3 content to be added as DLC!

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  5. Ring Fit Adventure

  [Switch]

  Who'da thunk they'd actually make a legit workout game in our lifetime? I didn't think I'd see the day, yet here we are with Ring Fit: A Genuine Workout GAME.

  I borrowed this from a friend in February of 2020, right before it would go out of stock everywhere once the pandemic hit. Eventually it came back in stock and we picked it up going into the colder months. We've stuck to it nearly every day for a month and a half and are still really enjoying it. It's been a super positive way to get in a little or a lot of movement in during a season where we're more inclined to binge TV and food.

  The content of the game is endlessly charming, full of fitness/health puns, and the story mode is a nice carrot-on-a-stick to boot. The gameplay of the story mode is basically just a RPG-lite, complete with clothing to collect and stat-buffing smoothies to sip before you fight enemies to make you feel empowered to keep going through the workout.

  We will keep on playing this game for our health, and honestly for the fun of it! It's the first time my wife is experiencing many of the very typical game mechanics it presents, so it's also been fun to see her learn about set bonuses for equipping certain outfits and the benefits of one smoothie over another as she continues to battle her way through Ringfitopia (not the actual name of the game world, but you get it).

  Huge props to Nintendo for making a workout game that's both actually challenging and fun for real.