Game of the Year 2020
Alright look, 2020 was an outright, fucking disaster. I’m not going to try and sugarcoat things. Even the beginning of 2021 has been an absolute shit show, culminating in domestic terrorism within the United States of America. All I can say is that the worst President in the history of the United States will be gone in a couple of weeks from posting this, along with his unbelievably idiotic administration. If you disagree? Fuck right off. You are just as bad as him and his administration.
Video games released this year, and some damn great ones at that. I didn’t end up spending as much time as I would have liked playing said games on account of a toddler, school, work, wife, and house to maintain. Therefore, I am going to keep my actual list to five titles that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with and no, not a single one of them is Final Fantasy VII Remake, because that game was simply not very good.
Before getting into the list, I have to include some Honorable Mentions.
Honorable Mentions
The following games may have been included within my actual top games list if I had spent more time playing them.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
DOOM Eternal
Ghost of Tsushima
Super Mario 3D All Stars
The Top 5
Without further adieu, my top five games of 2020.
Actually, before getting into the list, let me make two clarifications before you even think about them…
Again, Final Fantasy VII Remake is not on this fucking list. Come the fuck on, let’s run through it, shall we?
Gameplay: While the combat was ‘okay’ at best, the amount of times where your character was forced to walk SLOWLY, or climb SLOWLY, or crawl SLOWLY was fucking mind numbing.
Run Time: Keep in mind, this is the first game in what will eventually be a series. This one game contains the first 5 to 6 hours of the original game. They took those first 5 to 6 hours and stretched them out to what can be 40 or more. It’s one thing to expand on characters and story, but it is another thing to just add meaningless side quests, backtracking, and incredibly linear environments.
Side Quests: An absolute, fucking joke.
Combat: Remember when I said it was just ‘okay’? Well I meant it. The mere fact that you can fail a special or a spell due to the enemy tapping you or a cutscene triggering without warning was infuriating.
Music: You got me here. One of the best, if not THE best soundtrack I have heard from a game in 2020. Simply put, phenomenal.
Visuals: For the most part, fantastic. But oh boy we need to talk about the view of Midgar when the segment is about to fall. What the fuck kind of abysmal texture work is THAT?! Seriously, it looks like the original PS1 game. If that was intentional? That was a fucking mistake.
Review Examples: Looking for a couple video examples that convey my feelings? Check out the following here and here.
Cyberpunk 2077 is also not on this list. Yes, I am running on a high-end PC at a locked 60FPS with high settings. I have dealt with a smattering of bugs and glitches which means the game doesn’t warrant a spot within my top five. Maybe next year? Probably not.
Now, for real this time, my top five games of 2020.
#5 - Hades
I’ll keep this one short. If you have read basically any other actual games journalist game of the year list, this game is more than likely on it, and for good reason. It’s a rougelike sure, but it is so much more than that. The story (which this game actually has), the sound design, the combat, and the aesthetic are really special. Even if you are not a fan of the rougelike genre, or have never given it a try, give this one a shot. I mean shit, at least support a fucking studio who actually cares for their employees.
#4 - Destiny 2: Beyond Light
Oh boy, ANOTHER DESTINY EXPANSION RELEASE IN A GAME OF THE YEAR LIST FOR JOSH?!?! You bet your ass this is. You know the meme about how Destiny doesn’t have a story (besides in the convoluted Grimoire)? Well GUESS WHAT EVERYONE?!?! THIS ONE HAS A STORY! And mystery, and intrigue, and an incredible soundtrack.
If you want to know my thoughts on Destiny, then feel free to check out previous lists I have posted on this site. You want the TL;DR version? Destiny is still one of the best pure shooters available on the market today. Turns out Bungie knows a thing or two about creating a stellar FPS. Weird, I know!
I am not saying to expect Destiny 2: The Witch Queen to be on my list for 2021. But I am also not NOT saying that.
#3 - For The King
My surprise of the year. Think of this as a DnD ‘light’ where the systems appear to be straight forward but the more you dig in, the more complex they become. Every Wednesday, I get together over Discord with two of my best buddies Will and Jordan. We simply find a game to play together and forget about the outside world for a few hours. While scrolling through the Game Pass selection on PC (not an ad by the way), this game was stumbled upon, and we were immediately hooked.
If I could give a single recommendation for a game to play with a couple buds, it is hands down this one. In a year full of absolute bullshit, this game was a needed escape in more ways than one. To Jordan and Will, thank you for taking the time every week to play games with me. And to everyone else, please, play this fucking game. If you have Game Pass on PC, you have no excuse.
#2 - Astro’s Playroom
Who remembers games that were bundled with consoles when they released? Who would have thought a game would have been included with the PS5 when it released, and a damn great one at that? Is Astro’s Playroom a glorified tech demo for the PS5 Dualsense controller? Abso-fucking-lutely. But this tech demo is so much more than skin deep.
This game oozes charm. From the moment it is booted up, to the second the game is closed. I feel as though I was smiling all the way through its short run time. This wasn’t just a good console launch title, this is easily one of the best games of the year. But this wasn’t my personal game of the year.
#1 - The Last of Us: Part 2
Brutal. Harrowing. Desolate. Disturbing. Heartbreaking. Infuriating. Divisive.
Those words don’t even begin to paint the picture that The Last of Us: Part Two creates. No game is perfect, and this one is by no means anywhere near that descriptor. Instead, this game does something that so many other titles try and fail to do. This game makes you think and it makes you feel. Feel love, hatred, remorse, fear, and so many more emotions. Emotions that I haven’t felt playing a video game in a very long time. Let me paint you a picture.
Roughly a couple hours into the game, there is a scene that I wasn’t expecting to happen until quite sometime further on. Once the scene ended, I needed to step away from the controller, go upstairs, and hug my wife and child. I’ve never had to step away from a video game before due to overwhelming emotion. Could this scene be chalked up to shock value? Who gives a shit? That fact of the matter is, I actually FELT something.
This game rips and tears at you while you inch closer and closer to the finale. While I do believe the running time is a little too long, the developers make it very clear as to why, and it makes absolute sense.
There is so much more I want to say about this game but I am still having a very hard time finding the words to convey my full thoughts. Therefore, I will leave you with the following…
From that scene mentioned earlier, to the second the credits rolled, I knew this game would be my number one for the year. No question.
The Last of Us: Part 2 is not a video game that makes you feel ‘good’.
It is a beautifully destructive work of art.
There you have it. My top five games of the year that was, 2020. Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this and I am looking forward to the plethora of games to release in 2021.