My Top Ten Games of 2020 (and one really old game I played far too much)

In a year when the world seems like its on fire more than usual it's surreal to be able to casually sit here and write about my favourite games of the past 12 months. Video games couldn't seem any less important in the face of a pandemic and a global civil rights movement and these issues only just scratch the surface of everthing that happened in 2020. However, while video games may be insignificant when compared to these events, they have been to myself (and to many others as well) a constant source of comfort and escape. Therefore, it definitely helps that this year has delivered banger after banger for us to play and tear ourselves away from the shit show outside our windows.

While I never got to "enjoy" the furlough that many others did for better and for worse, as I work a job where it is not possible for me to work from home as an essential worker. So I didn't get the opportunity to spend most of this pandemic isolated and therefore playing a shit ton of video games. While I understand isolation isn't as great as I've made it sound, as someone who has never stopped getting up and going to work every day in this pandemic, let me indulge in a little jealousy. This is all to say I probably didn't play as many games as I otherwise could have or even complete every game I laid my hands on, but I did invest a lot of time in the ones I felt were truly special.

So without any further rambling I present my Top Ten Games of 2020 (and one old game I played far too much)!

(Also this list is ordered from 10-1, top to bottom I just can't order it on this list without number 1 being at the top which I think ruins the fun)

List items

• 

  The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

  In case it wasn't glaringly obvious this is the old game I have invested far too much time into when I could have been playing new video games. I have this hang up where if I am not playing a video game in its year of release I start to feel like I'm behind on the curve. It's this strange hang up I have considering I don't work in video games, and it's not like my friends play everything new, so I have no real obligation to stay current outside this self-imposed stipulation. This however tends to fall to the wayside if said old game is either newly relevant again (for example like Among Us) or is just so damn good I forget my burden of modernity.

  The Binding of Isaac actually falls into both these categories surprisingly being both relevant again in some sense due to the incredible amount of quality Rogue-Lites this year and being just so damn good. I'm not here to dive deep into the mechanics of a 9-year-old game and what makes them so good, at this point you should just know by now that Isaac is incredible. I think what is more noteworthy is that it truly stands the test of time and if released today I think stand up to any of the other notable games in the genre. Isaac is so simple on the surface but so incredibly deep in its item combinations and meta game you could spend hours just reading the wiki (which yes of course I did) and still not feel like you know everything.

  Isaac is a pantheon unto itself in the genre, it defined the modern Rogue-Lite and many of the games deeper on this list owe a lot to Isaac. But that is not what had me coming back to Isaac over those other games, what had me coming back is that Isaac still has the gameplay, style and depth that makes you sit there and say "just one more run".

• 

  Final Fantasy VII Remake

  So here we are the first entry on the list that actually came out in 2020.... and it's a remake of a game from 1997. The irony of talking about my obsession with modern video games only to transition to talking about a remake is not lost on me, I promise. However, in this case FFVII Remake to me is brand new as I have never played FFVII, queue the gasps from the audience.

  Yes I'm somewhat of a Final Fantasy novice especially when it comes to VII having never played it as a child (come on I was only born the year the game came out, give me a break), I've never managed to drag myself beyond the intro anytime I've tried to play it. It's not because I don't like JRPG's either, I genuinely do love a lot of them I just was never into Final Fantasy. I've beaten a total of two Final Fantasy games and those where X and XV, not exactly the classics the series is regarded for. Thus, with that out of the way you can take my opinion at face value without a drop of nostalgia: Final Fantasy VII is really fucking good. Not exactly the hottest take out there, but I think that speaks to the strength of the core story and characters from the original. The gameplay in FFVII is fine, it's an interesting take on FXV and the ATB system from VII, I had fun with it, and it didn't bore me etc. That is not the reason I kept playing though, I kept playing for one reason; the characters.

  The story of the game was interesting enough to string me along, but I kept playing to see how Cloud this himbo of a main protagonist was going to interact with was one of the most "feel good" casts in a video game I can think of. Tifa, Barrett, Aerith and Cloud himself were so personable and enjoyable I just kept playing, so I could see whatever they would get up to next regardless of whether it was "bio-terrorism" or going down a slide in an abandoned park. I think my biggest surprise was to learn that Jesse, Biggs and Wedge had merely bit parts in the grand scheme of FFVII whereas here they were part of the main driving force of why I kept playing (especially Jesse, I can't say more, or I'm gonna simp).

  I would like to also briefly highlight how the general theme and plot of the game of a group of radicals setting out to take down a mega corporation that is destroying the world through climate change is still relevant as ever, and also super rad. Though honestly it was merely a passing thought as I sat there with a dumb grin on my face thinking "oh Cloud what silly hijinks will these girls get you in next". Final Fantasy was dumb fun for me and I couldn't have asked for more, I can truly see why these characters are as popular as ever and have withstood the test of time, I greatly look forward to part 2.

  (Final addendum, shout out to the dub for this game that fucking rules, the level of cheesiness especially with characters like Aerith was just spot on for me.)

• 

  Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

  I don't platinum games very often, or really at all. I've never been one to go out of my way to platinum a game that I loved just to show my dedication to it, even with games I regard as all-time favourites like Bloodborne. Thus, it shows just how good Spider-Man (2018) was when I went out of my way to get that platinum trophy despite my reluctance to platinum games I think are far better. That game filled me with child like wonder and joy in a way that few games do, I really felt like a kid again rushing home from school to play Spider-Man 2 on my PS2 just to swing aimlessly around NYC.

  Spider-Man: Miles Morales fills me with a similar joy and wonder in a much smaller package that I think is a more than worthy sequel. In spite of how much I liked Miles Morales I have rather little to say about it, in terms of gameplay it's exactly what you would expect it to be; the last game but better. It doesn't re-invent the wheel in terms of action games, and it doesn't break new ground in terms of a spider-man narrative either. It is however a tight, concise narrative that I think expands on this Sony spider verse in ways I greatly enjoyed that just couldn't quite live up to the original in terms of emotional pay off.

  I look forward to any new entry in the Spider-Man series and especially want to see more of Miles story and characters with more degrees of separation from Parker and his stories. I think Miles Morales stands proudly on its own as one of the best console launch titles I've played in years and I eagerly await Miles next adventure as Harlem's own friendly neighbourhood spider-man.

• 

  The Last of Us Part II

  Suffering. That's the only word I could use to describe TLOUII (outside maybe controversial) but that truly is what the game is about. It's inclusion on this list already shows that I do genuinely think TLOUII is a good game, but I felt an almost a moral dilemma in placing it on this list at all. Part of me still struggles with calling TLOUII one of my top ten games of the year knowing what went on behind the scenes at Naughty Dog and the abhorrent labour practices that went on. However, this is my list and in the end I decided I do want to honour TLOUII as I believe it was an important part of my year in video games.

  What made the Last of Us special to me this year was it truly felt like a massive event in my life. I would come home every day to my girlfriend being furloughed, and she had played a bunch. This meant this crazy dynamic happened where I would sprint through the house and be like "don't talk to me till I'm caught up". I would finish every play session, and we would try to convey in a non spoiler way where we were in the game, so we could discuss. At the same time I was doing the same thing with my friend over text after every session just dying to talk about the game with people.

  The game just felt so monumental and important and the catharsis that came when all three of us had finished the game and could finally talk about it with each other was truly a great moment of the year for me.

  I think TLOUII stands on its own as a game I think it actually plays exceptionally well, and it made me care about characters the game set me up to hate, but I think without my experiences surrounding the game, it might not have made it as high on this list, or at all.

• 

  Ghost of Tsushima

  If you know anything about me at all, you should know that this game feels like it was made for me. I think I may have said that Assassin's Creed should do Japan since ACII, and then Sucker Punch of all studios came along to make the game I had always dreamed of. I think in maybe any other year this game would have been top 3, but I just got pulled away from it by frankly better and more engaging games.

  Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most relaxing experiences I have had this year in video games. It is just pure open world bliss in both the best and worst ways. I had so much fun just riding around this gorgeous world, following the wind and just stumbling onto objectives and ticking them off my list.

  The best part of Ghost for me is just role-playing being a Samurai in feudal Japan and I think the worst part was just the pure amount of open world bloat. I loved role-playing my version of Jin; starting with samurai armour and across the course of the game becoming a Ronin and then becoming the Ghost. None of this to do with the story however just how I played the game, I wore the Samurai armour and fought honourably because that's what I thought MY Jin would do. Then as the game progressed I spent a long time styling myself as a wandering samurai and then as the story ramped up embracing Jin as the Ghost of Tsushima.

  I also think the combat in Ghost is perfect for what it is, and I think it really excels in the duels and that was where I fell in love with the game. It helps that the game is just so bright and colourful that I spent more time in photo mode in this game that any other. Part of me wishes I had stuck on to finish Ghost but in some sense I feel like MY Jins story is complete, and I didn't need to see the conclusion to the game to know that.

• 

  Monster Train

  Monster Train to me was really more than anything the "time killer" game. The game where I wanted to watch or listen to something and needed something to play in the background just to keep the neurons firing. It was above anything else the ultimate podcast game or the game I could play while in queue on League of Legends with friends and just come back to after the game. In a year when I came home from work exhausted and the effort of diving into "difficult" games to play appealed to me less and less; Monster Train filled more of my time.

  Monster Train builds on what I loved about games like Slay the Spire and adds so many fun twists and combinations that I kept coming back over and over. It's fantastic to see how much post release support the developer has given it to encourage players to keep coming back. I may have dropped off Monster Train in the second half of 2020, but I know one day in the future all I'm going to want to do is put on the Bombcast, make a cup of tea and ride that Monster Train.

• 

  Demon's Souls

  Souls games to me are so incredibly special. They occupy a space in my heart that maybe no other franchise ever will, and sometimes I can't even quite figure out why that is. So when it was announced the Souls game I had given the least time to, the progenitor of the series was getting a remaster, I freaked out. This game was the reason I took a day off work, woke up at 6am and spent the next almost 6 hours trying to get myself a PlayStation 5. No other franchise in gaming I think could get me to go to those lengths for a console, but the Souls series always will.

  Demon's Souls itself is a superb game and is still the same superb game it was in 2009 it's now just a hell of a lot prettier. I came to Demon's Souls after I had already fallen in love with Dark Souls, and so I played it once on PS3 after the fact thought it was pretty good but couldn't match the sequel and that was about it. I couldn't have been more wrong. Coming to this game now after hundreds of hours in Dark Souls alone and the rest of the Soulsborne series under my belt, I really appreciate how far ahead of its time Demon's Souls was, and I have such a deeper appreciation of how it influenced its successors.

  Demon's Souls is as near perfect a remaster as I could have wanted, the gameplay is almost exactly 1:1 (bugs including the riposte glitch and all) with major QoL improvements. My only major critique is that while the new soundtrack has some amazing tracks not everything hits and changing the Maiden Astrea theme might actually be a crime, I'd have to look that up though.

• 

  Spelunky 2

  Alright now were into the real shit on this list so buckle up. Demon's Souls may have cracked the top 5, but it doesn't hold a candle to the way I feel about these next 4 games.

  Spelunky 2 might be as close to perfect as a video game could possibly be, at least in my eyes. I think the way that every system, every action, every reaction plays out is just mind-blowing. I have never had so many moments in a video game where I am floored that things either went incredibly well or incredibly wrong in the shortest amount of time. It is a true Rube Goldberg machine. It is also however so incredibly fair that every time some Looney Tunes/Mouse Trap style catastrophe strikes, no matter how insane, I always wind up saying "I should have seen that coming."

  That in its purest sense is why I love Spelunky 2, it builds on the first one in ways that are unimaginable it goes places I never believed it could ever go (and I am nowhere near seeing it all). The sense of exploration, the sense of adventure and mystery in Spelunky 2 is the core of why I play video games in the first place. The game has to feel fair however otherwise its crushing difficulty would turn you away before you even got out of the Dwelling (which believe me, took a long ass time), it has to feel like it's your fault when you lose.

  I think that for as long as I play video games, beating Spelunky 2 (and yes only the regular ending) will remain of my greatest triumphs in this medium. The pure joy and disbelief I felt when credits rolled was truly something magical. I think though the journey is long and full of perils the end result is worth its weight in gold.

• 

  Hades

  I think that the biggest shock to some people that know me might be that Hades isn't number one on this list. I think that Hades is a truly special game and is a truly special Rogue-lite in that it is the one that makes you care about the story. Hades is however a lot more than that, it is what Supergiant does best; it's a perfect blend of killer gameplay, beautiful art/music and wonderful characters. Those are three very simple concepts but every single time on any game they make, Supergiant just knocks it out of the park.

  Hades is at its core an incredible Rogue-Lite with some of the best combat in the genre, Hades just feels so good to play. Whether it's dashing around with the sword, lining up shots with the bow, peppering the ground with grenades or simply shooting giant tracking razor blades, Hades excels in its combat. Each weapon aspect, each boon combination are incredible in their own right but play off each other in the most interesting ways that create a game where at times I truly felt unstoppable.

  I do think that the combat in Hades often gets overlooked in a conversation so centred around its narrative and writing and that its unfair because Hades is more than the "one with the story", even without that it's a stellar game. It is however the Story and characters that pushes Hades above and beyond what I thought it was going to be. Supergiant have outdone themselves on not only their individual character writing but their world building is phenomenal. I believe everything that's happening in this world: I believe Zag dies every time and Hades scolds him, and he shoots the shit with Orpheus and Achilles. I believe that Zag (as a god with unlimited time) would take the time to renovate the hall just to piss off his dad or just to make sure that Cerberus is extra comfy.

  Outside its lager narrative and the reason to keep going even after your first win, I just wanted to hang out in the Underworld with Zag and his buddies. I want to find away to help Achilles and Patroclus or Orpheus and Eurydice, I want to make Dusa blush and run away and god-damn I want Meg to scold me every time I see her. Just existing in that world was enough for me in between runs that didn't go so well (of which there were a lot), when I couldn't progress the main narrative.

  When I finally beat my first run and saw what came afterwards it lit a fire under me to keep playing. I think I would have kept playing anyway even if that was the end, but I had to see what happened, I need to know what happened to Zagreus and if things were going to be okay. I really ended up caring for all the characters in Hades even the gods who were oh so fickle when presenting me boons. Furthermore, I don't think Supergiant can ever again recreate the magic of Hades and just how well all the pieces fit together. Though I think I would have said the same about Bastion or Transistor or Pyre or... you get the picture. The one thing I do know is that whether it was my first run or my fiftieth beating up your dad never felt so good.

• 

  Risk of Rain 2

  In a year of constant change through the middle of this year there was one thing that was eternal. You could always log onto Discord and never fail to see:

  isloudas

  Playing RISK OF RAIN 2

  I don't think I'm ever going to be able to put into words how truly magical Risk of Rain 2 felt to me. I think in a year when everyone talked about the Rogue-Lite with the story the one that enamoured me and pulled me so far into it was the one whose Story I couldn't tell you anything about. Likewise, I think that what Hades does for pushing the genre in a new bold direction, Risk of Rain 2 does by perfecting what was already there.

  If you asked me what I would rather sit down and PLAY between every Rogue-Lite on this list the answer will always be Risk of Rain 2. This game strikes the perfect balance of replayability, difficulty and sense of discovery that every Rogue-Lite should have. I could die at the last hurdle or the first, I could be 6 hours into one play session and I could hit restart and go again no questions asked.

  The way that each class in RoR2 feel so unique, that each different ability you can unlock for them fundamentally changes the way they play, is what every class based game should be aiming for. I could play any character in this game and have a wildly different but equally fun experience and I can't say that about many class based Rogue-Lites or even games in general. The way that each class oozes its own charm and personality from the melancholic dome headed commando to the communities goodest boy Acrid is incredible. This is all in a game I couldn't tell you almost anything about in terms of narrative and I couldn't care less. I don't need a narrative to tell me Captain is cool or Mercenary is an edge lord, I just know it from the fantastic character and class design.

  I haven't even begun to mention the item system which I won't get into that deeply, but I think it may be my favourite in any Rogue-Lite, with its ability to infinitely stack any item you obtain and can lead it to some insane god runs. Risk of Rain 2 truly puts the joy of playing above anything else, and I just applaud that, it feels so earnest in its need for players to be having fun at all times. Down to the fact that the items you accrue in the game appear on your in game character, even if only to give that player the extra chuckle at the end of the game when their sunglasses wearing, ukulele playing Huntress with a proton cannon strapped to her shoulder faces down the final boss.

  The only other thing I have to mention here is the Score by Chris Christodoulou which is by far my favourite album of the year irrespective of video games. The way that the music meshes with the visuals and action of RoR2 is on another level but the tracks themselves stand on their own two feet. I have listened to this soundtrack in my daily life and I can't express my love for this incredible blend of musical sounds and ideas that were not something I ever knew I needed in my life. It would be wrong if I didn't specifically bring up one particular song: …con lentitud poderosa.

  When I stepped onto the moon in the final level of Risk of Rain 2 and this slow build up began as I began my slow almost empty approach to the final boss I was taken aback by the beauty of the emptiness of it all. When I approached the final stretch and the music swelled to its crescendo I felt literal chills as this track hit its apex and I took in the entire desolate, bleach white surroundings of the moon.

  I could gush about Risk of Rain 2 for hours and still not convey why I think this game is so special. I know that part of it (as it always does) comes down to a "time and a place" sort of thing. Risk of Rain 2 appeared in my life when I needed it to. I was burnt out from working during the pandemic in the height of when we knew so little and everything was so terrifying. I was scared of the future and had no idea what was going to happen with my job or my family, coming home and going to work each day was terrifying in its own right and I needed to be able to come home and disassociate, to enjoy a game that wanted me to enjoy it. This was where Risk of Rain 2 entered my life and I found the game I could escape with, the one where I could just remove myself from the awful events of my day-to-day life at the time.

  ...and so he left, with everything he needed to take from it.

• 

  Yakuza: Like a Dragon

  I thought for this entire year that no game would overtake Risk of Rain 2 as my game of the year, I mean how could it? (Hell even writing my number two entry on this list for Risk of Rain I truly thought that maybe I should move it to my number one spot.) That was until in November after having nothing new to play on my PS5 I thought maybe I should finally play Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It was the best damn decision I had made all year.

  I am already a fan of the Yakuza series though only having actually played Yakuza Kiwami 1+2 and of course being introduced to the series with GiantBombs own Beast in the East, I never expected to fall head over heels for Yakuza 7. I thought I would find an enjoyable experience that maybe I would bounce off of purely due to the fact that it's a long JRPG and I never thought I would have the passion or the time for. I was wrong on every single account.

  Yakuza gripped me like a fever and I couldn't stop thinking about it, I just had to play it, I had to see it through to its conclusion no matter what. I had to see what happened to Kasuga and his incredible ensemble, I couldn't rest until I had. This was almost entirely in part to the fact that Yakuza does something that many video games just don't: It isn't afraid to BE a video game.

  Games like The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima or even Spider-Man can't provide you with moments of pure joy and brevity if it breaks from the narrative. It just wouldn't seem right, it would pull you out of the game, it would feel out of place. The strength of Yakuza is that the thrilling crime drama and the goofy Japan simulator feel entirely coherent, they feel like they belong together because Yakuza isn't afraid to say "fuck it were a video game here's some dumb video game stuff to do" in between the heartfelt and emotional crime drama that compromises its main narrative.

  I once heard Yakuza described as a Marting Scorsese film that every 20 minutes is interrupted by an episode of the Simpsons. At first, I thought it was an incredibly apt description but again it misses the point that interrupting a film like that would be jarring, except in Yakuza it's not. I wholeheartedly believe that the Kasuga who went to prison for a murder he didn't commit to save his family and the Kasuga that helps find a homeless mans pet crawfish only to be aghast he was going to eat it are the same damn person. Every crazy caper, every stoic meeting and every shirt ripped off before a climactic fight feels infinitely believable in the world of Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

  This game doesn't work however without one thing and that is Kasuga Ichiban himself. This character oozes the ultimate shounen good guy energy in a way that is so infectious that when it takes hold on the party members through the story you can see why, he is just an incredibly charismatic and likeable protagonist. I love Kiryu in the other Yakuza games and I think he was a perfect protagonist for what those games were trying to be and in the same vein I think that Kasuga is the perfect fit for the new direction Yakuza is going in. In fact the entire cast of characters is incredible from the major players in the Yakuza organization like Arakawa down to the guy that can't stop shitting in public bathrooms without any toilet paper. I just was happy to exist in a world populated by these characters and see what would occur today as I stepped into Kasuga's shoes. I have to mention the main party in the form of Nanba, Adachi, Saeko, Joon-gi and Zhao. I love this party with all my heart and they (along with Kasuga) were the real driving force behind why I sat down to play every night. The way they interact with each other, their own beats in the larger story all of it adds to their personalities and the game gives each one of them time to shine in their own right.

  It helps that the narrative that these incredible characters find themselves in is fantastic in its own right. Its crazy, convoluted and has a lot of twists and turns and in any other game it would be distracting but Yakuza crafts a world where I believe the impossible can happen, and it becomes the mundane. I think the game culminates in one of my favourite scenes in any game in years with the final cutscene being one of the most tense and emotional I have experienced in years and its just two guys in the street having a damn argument.

  I haven't even touched on the gameplay in Yakuza and to be honest I'm not going to. It's enough to simply say that it's fantastic and that the class/job system and the way it blends everyday jobs into being JRPG classes is ingenious and incredibly fun. I think it's enough to say that in this 50 hour long JRPG the combat never got stale for me and I enjoyed playing up to the final boss.

  I truly wish to say little more than I already have about Yakuza because I think it needs to be experienced to truly understand its magic. You don't need to know a damn thing about the series (though there are some excellent fan service moments if you do) to enjoy the exploits of Kasuga and his cohorts. The magic of Yakuza is in its ability to be unafraid to let you do the wildest shit while making it all seem coherent and believable and no game this year has done that better than this one. I sometimes think the larger video game industry forgets that at the end of the day were all just people playing with toys, and it's okay to do things just for the hell of it, just because its weird, just because its fun.