Best games I played in 2020
Two of them were actually from 2020, hold onto your butts.
List items
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As much as it shocks me, the more I think about it, the more I have to give 1998's Sanitarium The Golden Dingus award for "Best game played this year". I'll be real with you, it's the most memorable, even out of all the cool stuff I played this year, there's nothing quite like this. I felt sorry for Max and the characters of the game as things got more hopeless and depressing as things went on, but I couldn't stop playing it. It's weirdo graphics and imaginative story guided me through a surreal and abstract world of psychological torture... and I liked it.
It's a product of a different age and it's presentation has aged in such a weird way that's arguably more creepy now than it was when it came out. I don't usually put horror games this far up a list, but Sanitarium is different.
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Normally, when I see a game title like this, the first thing I do is scroll right on by, but due to the fact that this was a steam gift from a dear friendo, I eventually gave it a go. And what a stupidly fun and absorbing game this is, it's got all my favourite things!
Mass Death
People Crying For Their Lives
Spike Traps
People Comically Trying To Walk On Brimstone
and last but not least
A Point System That Pits You Against Your Steam Friends And Awakens Your Inner Competitiveness.
Instant classic, probably the game I played the most this year.
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My main issue with a lot of JRPG's is that the stories are often really good but they're not... DARK enough. Too many bright colours and not enough Chinese Cannibal Villages, but Shadow Hearts is different and would you believe it, the very first thing I bumped into after just a little exploring was a Chinese Cannibal Village.
As much as I love the themes and story of this game it is not without flaws, it's combat is a bit of a slog with most of the boss fights stretching on into the 20 minute mark because enemy health is through the roof and the amount of damage you can inflict being dismally low, even with the most powerful moves in the game. It's combat is only interesting thanks to the judgement ring system which I do like during combat but having to use it outside of combat to pick up a coin in a well is like asking me to play hopscotch before I can eat a sandwich.
BUT it is good, you have to believe me.
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Oh boy, Yakuza 4. I'm not sure why this one seems to be a fan favourite of the series, it's my least favourite one so far. Introducing 3 new playable protagonists is all good and well, but my heart belongs to Kiryu and making me wait until the end of the game so I can finally play his frustratingly short chapter wasn't very fun.
It's not like the other characters were bad, Akiyama was a cool dude and was probably the most fun to play as of the other 3, Saejima was an giant, angry looking man with the personality and constitution of a tree trunk and Tanimura was a somewhat bent cop, but not really, but also he doesn't play by the rules and eh whatever. I dunno I just found it a step down from Yakuza 3, the story wasn't too engaging and the multiple protagonist set up made Kiryu's chapter feel like "And now it ends with him having to clean up the mess everyone else couldn't."
So why is it on a list? Well the problem being, it's STILL a Yakuza game, with all the silly bike-thrashing combat and dumb minigames (stare at boobs to build your heat gauge whilst you play ping-pong) and just walking around Kamurocho was pretty nice and the substories were interesting. I'd rather play my least favourite Yakuza game than the 30 other games that didn't make it on the list.
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I beat this at the start of the year for the first time on PS3... AND THEN THEY GO AND REMAKE IT ON PS5.
What. The. Hell.
It's still a fantastic game, especially with the fan-server allowing me to continue to get invaded and killed whilst AFK like the dingus I am, long after FromSoft stopped supporting it. I loved the bosses and didn't love the Valley Of Defilement. I still think back to the second stage Tower Of Latria as one of the coolest locations I've ever been to in a videogame, even on PS3 it was an awe-inspiring location. It feels very different from Dark Souls and whilst that game will always be my favourite thanks to the giant-interconnected world, I think Demon's Souls is a close second because of how it feels. A foreign land fallen into mystery.
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I can hear the theme tune music in my head.
I don't think I can name a game that's given me an emotional feel-bad's as much as that one time I accidentally gifted Buck a shirt back to him that he gave to me.
Tore my heart out, and now I live in hiding. Too afraid to return to my island of Fort Death and face him and Sherb and Marcie and tell them that I've not visited them, because I've been away playing Legend Of Zelda Breath Of The Wild because the loneliness of exploring Mountaintops looking for shrines is what I deserve after my heinous acts.
Jay, I'm sorry I hit you with that net, there was a Paper Kite Butterfly RIGHT NEXT to you, my controller is broken, it was an accident.
Rocco, thanks for putting that flower in your house, it's not your style, but it was sweet to put it on display like that. I don't deserve friends like you. <3
Ketchup, thanks for being the only one to GIVE me candy on Halloween.
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Whilst not as groundbreaking as The Dark Descent, Rebirth really was something special. I think the story elements was what got me the most, seeing places only referenced in The Dark Descent and being able to explore this spooky world Frictional Games had developed, whilst it'll always be second best to my baby SOMA, Rebirth really does push the boat out when it comes to soundtrack and design.
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Irony huh. I started playing this game at the start of the year when everyone was convinced the Covid-19 outbreak was nothing to worry about, and I was having fun until reality knocked on the door. Then suddenly I was wearing face-masks to work and this game had lost a lot of the appeal that came from wiping out humanity with a virus called "Gamer Girl Bathwater".
It's still a lot of fun and giving the diseases silly names and trying to figure out the most effective way to kill everyone was totally enjoyable, hunched over my laptop going "YES! TOTAL ORGAN FAILURE!"
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I nearly burnt up this summer playing Dusk in the heatwave, sweat running down my forehead as I power-slided whilst dual wielding shotguns, gunning down cult member and evil possessed goats. Whilst STRAFE just didn't hit the 90's shooter mark for me at all, Dusk really nailed it. From the music to the look and enemy design, it was a ton of fun.
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I didn't know the PS3 could render SO MANY FUCKING ANTS.
"IT LOOKS AS IF THE GIANT INSECTS HAVE RETURNED AFTER 7 YEARS! THEY MUST HAVE BEEN UNDERGROUND THE ENTIRE TIME"
I also beat Red Dead Redemption this year, as well as Resident Evil 3 Remake, Leisure Suit Larry, Dark Souls 3 and Tekken 7.
But they weren't as stupid fun as blasting giant ants with jetpacks and missile launchers.
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I think you should know by now that I have a secret... I really like dumb things, and this is the dumbest thing. By far. The silliest, dumbest, most ridiculous thing. The best of the dumbest.
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