The year of madness, as a pandemic shut down the world and games became a more significant part of my free time and life again as a result. It really helped that 2020 had some incredible releases that I could spend a lot of time and attention on, and that were worth the investment.
I feel that 2020 demonstrated the importance of games as a way to escape events, and as a meaningful hobby.
Supergiant have been making excellent games since they released Bastion, but Hades is not only their best work yet, it is one of the most exciting and powerful games I have played. A phenomenal soundtrack, intriguing and rewarding gameplay, speed that just pulls you in to the game loop and outstanding writing along with a Greek mythology setting and gorgeous aesthetic combine to create a masterclass in gaming. What an incredible feat, worthy of Olympus.
Addictive strategy returns and this one absolutely devoured my time as I spend scores of hours furthering my dynasty in a range of historical start dates. While lacking the sheer mountain of content hat Crusader Kings 2 has, this game beats it in most meaningful ways and with a greater focus on making the whole world look and feel authentic. Stellar strategy game.
This hit me much harder than I thought, being skeptical of the FF7 story being broken up into multiple releases and thinking this would be a nostalgia driven cash grab. What has been delivered is instead a mechanically deep RPG game which honours the legacy of the original while subverting expectations in some incredible ways and with stunning music and visuals as well as a massive campaign that in no way left me feeling short changed by its end. Complete triumph for Square and a game that brings me right back to the 90's while having the excellence of a modern cutting edge title.
I believe this is an underrated gem that took from a range of very successful games but wrapped them into its own setting and style and made a brilliant open world game with lots to love. Yes it is iterative of the likes of Breath of the Wild, but the quality is here and it actually gets over a lot of the complaints I have had re Ubisoft titles for a few years, and all with quite a sense of humour and attention to impressive scale and player autonomy in how to tackle the world. It feels like I am the only one who played it out of people I know in person, but I highly rate this game.
I always thought RE2 was a considerably better game than RE3, and this stands more true than ever with the remakes. Honestly, while very visually impressive I was disappointed to see the much feared Nemesis monster reduced to effectively scripted sequences and some very monotonous enemies that let this one down. It really did feel like a DLC pack for RE2 remake and while completely competent and fun it is not a big impact game and one that will remain in the shadow of its far more impressive predecessor for me.
