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My Top 10 (Technically 11) Games of 2020

So, 2020 sure was a year, huh? Despite the hell that was the real world, the games that occupied the time really left an impression through the twelve months. I certainly won't forget the ones I was able to get my hands on. In fact, I think I'm able to put them into a list format!

But before I do, here are the few that couldn't quite crack the top 10.

Honorable Mentions

Favorite Multiplayer: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Every year has one of those games. The kind that takes the world by storm and chugs along nicely without sign of faltering. Between this and Among Us, Fall Guys was probably the most invested I've gotten into a simple, yet complex casual game, spending multiple evenings chasing after those crowns. Though I never won a game myself, the cheerful and colorful matches were enough to keep me diving back in. That is, until some jerk grabs hold of me and shoves me off a ledge in the first round.

Biggest Deviation: Resident Evil 3

Look, only one remake is getting onto my list and this isn't making the cut by a long shot. I should emphasize, Resident Evil 3 wasn't a bad game by any means. It was fine. Perfectly serviceable. A little bit more polished from last year's Resident Evil 2 in the combat department, even if the overall length was shorter. I didn't even mind that it cut some of the old sections out of the story. Where it draws contention, however, is that I didn't replay it after finishing up the story, unlike last year where I all but memorized the entirety of both campaigns. And no, the Resistance pack-in wasn't tempting enough for me to touch it.

If the goal was to remake a disappointing follow-up to the previous years' excellent numbered title, then Capcom did a bang-up job.

Secretly my Favorite Game: Half-Life: Alyx

This is weird for me to put here because it should be my #1. I replayed all of the Half-Life games in prep to Valve's long-awaited interquel to the series, even though I had already revisited them too many times. By the time I stepped into City 17 behind the pair of VR goggles, it was nothing but magic. All the interactables and physics behaved the way I thought they would. There was a real tangible feel to the whole world right out of the gate, which persisted until the end credits. Virtual reality was finally sold to me and I was in heaven.

And here comes my point of conflict with even putting it on my list: it's hard for me to sell a game that requires two, whole expensive pieces of hardware just to experience. In a year where just about everyone is strapped for cash, sinking that much money just to play what amounts to a standard-length Half-Life game is difficult to recommend. I should emphasize, if you do happen to have a working VR set hooked up to a beefy machine, Half-Life: Alyx is a worthy entry to the series.

Biggest Time Investment: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Another weird entry on my list. As of last week, this is now my most-played game ever after logging in every day since release. This is my first Animal Crossing game, and having decided now is the time to check it out, it sucked me in and made me micro-manage my island beyond what I would have believed. I liked a lot of the rapport with the villagers and the surprises they had every day, what with the writing actually being more clever than a lot of lifestyle games.

That being said, it's not touching my list with a ten-foot pole. The first few hours was probably the most rotten time I've had with an opening in recent memory, having to juggle learning the systems and inventory management all at once. Receiving the same items over and over again is probably the worst feeling in the world. A lot of the times, I found myself banging my head against the clunky systems just to make any sort of progress. A durability on tools without any indication of how weathered they are? Give me a break, Nintendo.

But you know what? Everything I just said wasn't a deal-breaker until I started experiencing a lot of repeat dialogue from the villagers. Where I once found them to be cute and charming NPCs, the illusion came crashing down on me with full force when I realized they just exist to spit out unneeded clothing and resolve the same personal conflicts they kept falling into.

I say all that, but Nintendo is the one laughing by the end: 400 (!!!) TOTAL. HOURS!

EVERY. DAY. SINCE. LAUNCH!

Ya got me, House of Mario.

Coolest Thing on Next-Gen Hardware, Numero Uno: Astro's Playroom

Gosh, what a neat piece of tech the Playstation 5 is. I'm finally able to slip in a lot of my PS4 discs and get surprising amount of a boost in quality that wasn't capable of before. The most impressed I got, out of my entire library, was booting up The Last Guardian and playing it at a silky-smooth 60 fps. That game struggled enough on old hardware and seeing it perform without a lot of those issues is more than worth the waiting queues for the console. That's what sold me more than anything on the PS5.

Oh, and Astro's Playroom was a neat pack-in that showcased the new controller, I guess.

Coolest Thing on Next-Gen Hardware, Numero Dos: Demon's Souls

No, but seriously, the fact that The Last Guardian is no longer running like a slideshow has me double-taking more than anything else. Trico, the giant bird-cat-dog, animates and moves even better than before. Some could say that this is the way to play the game.

Right, and Demon's Souls was also really cool. But you already knew that if you played it back in 2009.

I Wish I'd Play More of This, Numéro Un: Maneater

This was probably one of the more satisfying games I've played all year, even in the few hours I was able to spare for it.

All that I can really say to sell anyone on it is that you start as a shark pup taking revenge on shark hunters on a reality television show who killed your shark mom at the time of birth and somewhere down the line you inherit traits including electrified teeth and enact violence on beachgoers breaking quarantine restrictions. I think it was a really time and place sorta game.

I Wish I'd Play More of This, Numéro Deux: Ghost of Tsushima

First thought I had after I booted this up was “Wow! This is a really pretty game. They really sunk a lot of money into this!” I liked how it incorporated a lot of the visuals of a Kurosawa film, even if it didn't bring in the sensibilities of one. I already knew about the first Mongol Invasion of Japan going in, so I was curious to see some of the more nitty, gritty details of the event, even if they fictionalized much of the story. Unfortunately, grad school happened and I didn't get the time to revisit this. We'll see what 2021 can bring!

And Here's Some Stuff I Got Recommended, But Haven't Played

Cool? Cool. Onto the list:

10. Amnesia: Rebirth

There's really not a lot I can say about this other than it being another Amnesia game. You know what you're getting into if you've played anything by Frictional Games in the last ten or so years. Hiding and looking away from monsters, tactile puzzle solving, resource management for light sources and sanity, it's all here. One could describe it as a horror game lifted straight from the early-2010s, but to do that is a disservice for what it actually accomplishes.

What separates Rebirth from the other games is the narrative, and by extension mechanical, turn it takes early on that ratchets up the tension in a way I didn't expect. I wouldn't go far as to say it's a good twist on the formula, but it was a really unique one, and even then it compounds further. By the end, I would say I was less impressed but more appreciative of how the game pulled it together. My advice: go into it as blind as possible and wait for the narrative twist about an hour in. You'll know for yourself if this game is for you by then.

Looking back on my time with it, Rebirth subverted a lot of the horror tropes with its story and didn't revel in any edginess or shock factor that a lot of mainstream games tend to go for. In the end, it deserves some recognition for that.

9. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Hey, remember how pretty that first Ori game looked? And how well it played? What if they expanded on those by making the environments even prettier and the combat more freeform? Sounds like a win-win to me!

Although Blind Forest came out five years ago, Will of the Wisps felt like a welcome back party that reintroduces and builds upon everything that made the first one great. The level design in the new areas was a particular highlight for me, always subtly guiding the player forward while hiding a bevy of secrets just waiting to be uncovered. I could take or leave the town-building system that was introduced in the mid-game, but it was nice there was quite a bit of reverence and attention to detail that was put into the world.

Just a really cute package all around.

8. Bugsnax

You could probably predict the end of this game from a mile away if you saw anything regarding the reveal early on this year, but that's not what I think is neat about Bugsnax. For me, I was really surprised with how much I liked and cared for the Grumpuses that inhabited the island of insect-like snacktoids, each of them having their own quirks and flaws. Gramble and Wiggle, in particular, had a really good dynamic going on.

One could boil the gameplay down to just being a bunch of fetch quests, but that's not what really pushed me to see the end. I kept going because a lot of the character arcs and how they resolved with each other was way more developed than I expected. That and it was also one of the funnier games I've played this year. Being the Octodad devs helps in that regard, I guess.

7. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake

Is it bad to admit that I never played Final Fantasy VII until this year? I mean, I knew about all the plot beats and characters through cultural osmosis, but not actually playing it? Because I think that's bad, especially as someone who was fond of a lot of late-90s JRPGs. I still think Final Fantasy IX is the best of the three though.

Anyways, I gave the original a shot in the leadup to Remake and stuck with it to the credits. I'm glad there was a throughline of animosity back in 1997 towards overbearing corporations that thoughtlessly decay the planet's climate. That and how anyone who fights back against the system is branded a public terrorist. Scary how well that rings true in the real world, huh? Can't wait to fight against a man with a giant sword and the Meteor he summons in the near future. Capitalism sure is a disease.

With the original fresh in my mind, I finally got to see what the fuss was with the Remake. What I appreciate the most about it is how Square Enix decided to go all-in, and even double-down, on pretty much every silly aspect from Midgard. No stone was left unturned. Everything had to be as we remembered it.

At least, that's what they want you to think. Turns out, “Remake” is in the title for a reason, which I would only sully by explaining the meaning behind it. They took some chances with how it wraps up the first third of the story. Audacious, even. But I won't lie when I say that I'm curious with where they take it.

6. Carrion

A Metroidvania through the lens of a Thing-like monster. Boom! Sold. What more do you need?

I didn't even mind that there was no in-game map. The level design was good enough to where I could follow the path reasonably without getting lost. If anything, you just have to appreciate how well that monstrosity looks, sounds, and moves. I've never been so delighted to partake in the bloodbath of scientists and security personnel.

5. Ghostrunner

You are a fast robot man who can wallrun and kneeslide with ease. You have a sick katana. There are thousands of grunts between you and the ending, just asking to get cut down in style. To accompany you on your murder-fest are two characters, who ramble about the state of the world, and a banging soundtrack. Games can never be more clear-cut than this.

More Hotline Miami than Shadow Warrior, this is one of the two games for me that hit that sweet spot of faced-paced action and character movement. Before this, I would have thought that first-person platforming was a lost cause and completely unfeasible. I was never more glad to be proven wrong. Don't tell anyone, but this was the real cyberpunk experience of the year.

4. Doom Eternal

Look, I get it.

In some ways, Eternal was a bit of a step down compared to the excellent Doom 2016. Right out of the gate it didn't have the surprise factor going for it, like the previous title had, leaving a lot of people with pretty heightened expectations. The story also felt rather intrusive and disjointed compared to 2016's fresh take on the formula. Heck, even some of the platforming could have also been toned down, if anything.

But everything else? It's like a dream come true.

I loved how they expanded the combat system, making it feel more involved and complex than before. Returning enemies have different strategies, which made encounters with them feel fresh all over again. The design of many of the arenas, particularly the Slayer Gates, were welcome challenges that meshed traversal with panicky, think-on-your-feet character action particularly well. I didn't even mind that the stages were a little bit longer. A little less tight, sure, but I appreciate a game continuing to draw from the sensibilities of the shooters of yore.

Like I said, I get how it didn't jive with everyone, but for me, this was everything I was hoping for in a follow-up to the last Doom game. It hit all the right buttons. At least, I did when I fought with the Marauder.

3. Hades

What more needs to be said about Hades? Just about everyone is including this on their year-end list, and all for good reasons: it has just about everything in it that someone will love.

I can go on about how beautiful the characters are, how well the story injects its own take on Greek mythology and legends, how the dialogue is punchy and memorable in the usual Supergiant fashion, how every run feels unique and fresh, how reactive the game gets with player choices and accomplishments, or even how you're always making some sort of progress in the face of failure. But you probably already knew all of that.

Instead, I want to talk about one of my recent experiences with it. Stop me if you've heard this before:

“It's a roguelike for people who don't like roguelikes.”

This didn't ring truer than when I recommended it to my brother. Not one day has passed when he finally pulled the trigger, booting it up for the first time, and already sunk 12 hours into it. This happened the day before I started writing this list. Everything you heard about Hades lives up to the hype and more. It's just that dang good.

2. Pathologic 2

This game released last year to a somewhat tepid response, and I was initially hesitant on including it on my personal list. But screw it, if there was any year where a narrative about a pandemic and a township seeking a way to overcome a plague were any more relevant, then 2020 takes it by a landslide.

Pathologic 2 is such an odd beast of a game. If this is a game where you go in and want full handle on the world, you'll hate it. If this is a game where you demand to have every aspect explain itself to you, you'll hate it. If this is a game where you expect a power fantasy in any way whatsoever, you'll haaaaate it. But if you go in expecting a story of intrigue and conflict between individuals vying for control over a town infested by a ravenous pestilence that could kill off any of the named characters, you're in for a treat.

While a survival game in a sense, Pathologic 2's strongest suit is making the player character feel completely powerless. It's a game that remembers all of your failures and barely any of your successes. You revive with even lower chances upon death. Combat feels next to completely useless. God help you if you square off against someone with a firearm. All the pickups and items are randomized, so you can't depend on the same strategies, even between reloads. Even worse, you're working against the clock, with an in-game time limit reminding you how bleak your situation can, and will, become. Pathologic 2 is a game that wants to see you suffer.

And yet, all of it comes together to create a unique atmosphere of tension and resolve. You and your character wallow in misery and death on so many occasions, but they can be overcome. The game itself says as much. The deck is always stacked against you, so fighting against it isn't the solution. It's about riding the wave, rather than trying to control it, and seeing where it takes you. You can't save everyone, after all.

Did I have moments of frustration with it? Sure. Were there times where I felt like my efforts were in vain? Usually. But did it paint a true to life picture of how fruitless some of the greatest laid plans could become? Eh, close enough. All I know is that I eventually reached the end. I saw myself through and committed to seeing how the folklore-like setting on the Russian steppe wrapped up. I persisted without dialing down any of the intended difficulty sliders. I took the bad with the good and came out the other end learning about how I handle under pressure. It's human nature, after all.

1. Half-Life: Alyx

Okay, I lied. VR's crowning achievement is my game of the year.

Writing this list, I thought back to the first time I strapped the headset to my face and saw the pre- Half-Life 2 setting spread to the horizon, beckoning me forward. I thought about all the ingeniously crafted sequences that tested my wits and quick-thinking like a person who was actually stuck in the middle of everything. I thought about how close this series is to my heart as I trudged forward with each step, not knowing what to expect. But most importantly, I thought about how everything just worked.

Hey, did you know that there's a piano located somewhere in this game? Well, there's a piano you can find, and all of the keys played their real notes. I could play a rendition of Für Elise through a VR video game if you gave me the time, and that's rad as hell.

Not once was the illusion shattered. I had to intuit what was around me to the best of my ability. To the best of Alyx's ability. If there was a problem, then by God was there a way to solve it. Weapons clicked and fired in all the right ways. Items can get pushed around by the end of my pistol. I could reliably throw a grenade as well as I could intuit. Headcrabs can get shoved aside by simple furniture. If you think it's a solution, chances are it was accounted for and then some.

And then there's the ending. Oh man, does it go places! Without spoiling anything, let's just say that I think it's the strongest a Half-Life game has ever concluded and it makes me excited for what Valve has in store. A giant possibility space, narrative and gameplay-wise, has opened up and I can't wait to see what comes forth.

It's almost terrifying, in a way.