2020 was quite a difficult year for everyone with the major problem being the COVID-19 pandemic that spread throughout the whole world and claiming over a million lives. With that danger looming over, many events were canceled, production was slowed down, and many other problems occurred. The Videogame industry and community took hard hits all throughout the year. E3 was canceled and held a mediocre online version of updates and interviews. EVO was switched to having an online tournament to being entirely canceled after a number of allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, coercion and endangering minors against event organizers and players (mostly in the Smash Ultimate community) were brought to light. It's been a rough year for those involved in videogames. Despite all that, I think I had a lot of fun with the games that did release this year and games I played in general.
Here are the top 10 games I played that released this past year. I'm going to cheat a little this time and mention games I haven't finished yet. Games I haven't completed yet will have an *.
10) Black Mesa [PC] - Black Mesa is a remake of Half-Life 1 that was in Early Access for the longest time. They finally finished and released it out of Early Access and I can see why the last part of the game took so long. While the game still feels like the original Half-Life 1 and I still remember so much of the game, it still felt like a new experience playing through the game with a much richer world with modern graphics. Many argue that the darker and eerie theme of the last part was better in the original, and I do think it certainly left an impression I never forgot; however, the new and recreated world of Xen is so imaginative and beautiful that I can't help but praise the developers for their vision. I loved the original Half-Life and I definitely think this remake does a good job of staying faithful to the original while still making the experience feel fresh and new.
9) Deep Rock Galactic [PC] - On a whim, my friends and I picked up this 4-player cooperative First-Person Shooter about dwarves gathering resources. The concept sounded kind of boring to me, but I quickly changed my mind as I played the scout and realized I could zip around everywhere with a grappling hook. It's an entertaining cooperative experience fighting against bugs together and coordinating objectives.
8) Risk of Rain 2 [PC] - I know I mentioned it in last year's list, but the game is out of Early Access now and all the new characters and content really solidified how awesome of a game Risk of Rain 2 is. This cooperative, 3rd-Person Action Rogue-like has a striking art style that stands out with some really crazy and convoluted moments that feels so satisfying when you're able to handle everything that's thrown at you. I will say that the music isn't as memorable or prominent as the first game.
*7) Hades [PC] - Supergiant Games' newest game is definitely a hit. While there have been plenty of Top-Down, Action Rogue-likes made before this game, none really have such a unique art style, large amount of content, satisfying gameplay, and (most of all) fairness in challenge that Hades brings to the table. Make no mistake, it's still a challenging game. But it has this leniency and forgiveness that makes the game a lot more bearable over the dozens of other Rogue-likes that thinks getting insta-killed is fun. And, my goodness, that music! The music is soooooo good! I'll admit that I haven't actually completed a full run yet since I've been distracted by other games, but Hades absolutely deserves recognition for how much of an impression it left me this past year.
6) Streets of Rage 4 [PC] - Honestly, I wasn't going to buy Streets of Rage 4 at launch. But what happened was I played the original trilogy with a friend a week before its release and changed my mind. In my mind, I was thinking that even if I may not like the game, I'll at least like the music. But I DID like the game, A LOT! While it retains a lot from the original beat-em-up formula, it also implements some new ideas and concepts that make the gameplay just a bit more complex and free-flowing. And yes, I did like the music. I liked it so much that it was the first time I actually bought a game's soundtrack that wasn't sold on steam and wasn't on sale. In fact, I may go as far as saying it was my favorite videogame soundtrack of 2020. I only got through two and a half playthroughs and want to play more of it, but new games and backlog is preventing me from doing so.
5) Monster Hunter World: Iceborne [PC] - I can't believe I played this in 2020, because it felt like forever ago since I played it. The Iceborne expansion definitely adds a lot to the original game and made me fall in love with the game all over again. The biggest change was the ability to grapple hook onto monsters and slamming them against a wall. It was nice being able to play more Monster Hunter with my friends again and fighting even crazier monsters than before. There's still a ton of end-game content that I haven't experienced yet that I could play.
4) Trials of Mana (2020) [PC] - This was one of my most anticipated games of 2020 and I was super excited to play it. I played through the original game right before this released so I could get a comparison. And while I think the remake addresses all the problems and things I hated about the original and it's better in so many different ways, I couldn't get over how easy the game was. This was one of the very few times I played a game on the hardest difficulty from the very start. The game was later updated with an extra difficulty, but I haven't found the time to go back to it. I meant to play the game 3 times to experience all three story paths, but I only had time to finish one playthrough. I loved the recreation of the entire game in 3D while going for aesthetic closer to Secret of Mana (the original Trials of Mana was rather dark and muted, possibly for a more realistic art direction), and loved the arranged music. However, I did not like the English dubbing. It was rather painful to listen through. I absolutely loved Trials of Mana (2020) and will definitely go back to it someday to go through the other 2 playthroughs.
3) Granblue Fantasy: Versus [PC] - I was a bit skeptical about the game at first as it looks slower than most Arc System Works fighting games, and had that cooldown system going on. But Granblue Fantasy: Versus turned out to be one of the most enjoyable games I played in 2020. RPG Mode was a bit disappointing as most of the playthrough was a monotonous slog through trash mobs until I got to boss fights. Boss fights were a lot of fun in a casual sense. The game definitely shines most in the actual fighting game where I played hundreds of matches with my friends. It helped me become even more experienced and knowledgeable about fighting games. GBFV has a decent variety of characters, an interesting combat flow with the cooldown system, and a combo system that's easy enough to learn quickly but complex enough for some mastery. It ended up being the fighting game we played the most this past year. Unfortunately, the netcode isn't the best and was made even more evident when Guilty Gear XX Accent Core+R was updated with GGPO rollback and we experience just how good online game could potentially be if rollback was used in all fighting games.
*2) Ghost of Tsushima [PS4] - Honestly, this should be #1. The Open-world, Action-Adventure set in ancient Japan delivers an experience I've wanted in a samurai game since High School and never had until now. The game has a strong sense of authenticity and cinematic drama that's so potent that I often forget the game wasn't made in Japan. Combat is slick and satisfying, the environment is lively, and the stories just drew me in. While I didn't finish the game, I did play quite a few hours (40+ I think?). It's possible that I've unlocked most of what I can potentially do in combat, so the game might get repetitive at some point. I got highly distracted and haven't been able to get back to finishing the game yet, but I definitely plan to sometime this year.
1) Phantasy Star Online 2 [PC] - The game that blocked Ghost of Tsushima from my #1 spot is a game I've been waiting 8 years to release, and it's finally here! Granted, it caused me a lot of grief when it first released. PSO2 was initially released on the Microsoft Store and it was okay for the first week, and then it broke after a Windows Update. I spent hours trying to resolve the issue to no avail and eventually gave up in hopes that a Steam release wasn't too far away. Besides that, it had optimization issues, bugs, crashes, and errors as well as random disconnections in the middle of a mission. It took three months, but PSO2 was released onto Steam and I was able to link my account up and play on Steam. A lot of the problems I had before were fixed and I was finally able to play the game. Despite so many years from its initial release in Japan, PSO2 holds up really well with fast and exciting combat as well as a plethora of content that accumulated the past 8 years. And while the graphics are somewhat dated, they didn't detract from the experience. It almost feels like there's always an event going on. The Urgent missions and live concerts the community involved, even if it's just for a moment. There's just so much you're free to do! I've already played over 200 hours of PSO2 and feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what's available to me. I can see myself playing a lot more PSO2, and Sega has already announced Phantasy Star New Genesis, a completely new game that will work in tandem with PSO2 in the future. All that waiting was worth it, I love Phantasy Star Online 2!
Honorable mentions:
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 [PC] - A sequel to the spin-off game, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 brings back the classic Castlevania formula with even more characters, pathways, secrets, and extra modes. The game feels much more challenging than the first game with quite a few modes after each playthrough. I've only completed one playthrough and haven't found the time to go back and complete the others ones yet, but I plan to.
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem [PC] - Another steam game that was in Early Access for years was finally released this past year to many people's dismay. The game was still highly unpolished with bugs, glitches, and problems that left a lot of people dissatisfied with the end result. My experience was a struggle as the game proved to much more challenging than I anticipated. The introduction of cinematics, story and character dialogue surprised me as I didn't see any of it during Alpha and Beta testing, and I thought they were really good.....at first. Near the end of the game, it just betrayed my trust in that the story was going in a good direction only to try to be unexpected in a disappointing fashion. Character building was interesting as it gave the player a lot of freedom of what they want to create. The skill tree is somewhat similar to Path of Exile, but a lot smaller. Abilities can be swapped out freely based on what weapons you wield. End game is interesting as it has randomly generated maps for the player to run through, as expected of a Diablo-like, as it all works towards a goal of rebuilding the kingdom. Overall, Wolcen was janky, broken, and unpolished, but I definitely had fun with it as it provided a unique experience with a decent amount of challenge.
Here are my top 10 games I played this past year that wasn't released in 2020:
10) Insurgency: Sandstorm [PC] - I really liked the Insurgency mod back in the days, and so I was definitely excited for a standalone game and I really enjoyed that one, too. Then I saw Sandstorm with its new engine and I felt drawn to it. It's kind of crazy how different it feels to the original when they have the same concept and gameplay. I didn't really play too much (about 15 hours) since I don't feel compelled to play with pubs and none of my friends enjoyed the game as much when we tried it during a free weekend, but I really liked it. I liked how it looked, how gunplay felt, and the nice looking environment. My biggest complaint is that single-player is awful compared to the original and is the reason why I still go back to the original sometimes.
9) Blaster Master Zero 2 [PC] - I really liked Blaster Master Zero, but it certainly surprised me that they made a sequel. While the first game was a remake of the original, this sequel was an entirely new game that ties the story of the original Japanese game with the story of the American version. The game is more challenging, had more content, and just felt more fun than the first game. I finished the game once, but plan on playing through it with the other extra characters when I find the time.
8) Acceleration of Suguri 2 [PC] - I played the first original Japanese version of the game a long time ago and found the game frustrating and difficult. I had played the original again in English and still wasn't crazy about the game. Acceleration of Suguri 2 never had a big discount with its soundtracks, and I eventually made the plunge and bought the game with all the soundtracks for a much higher price than I wanted. And again, I played the game and felt lukewarm about the gameplay. After completing the game with every character, I was about to call it quits. It wasn't until after I played and finished Sora (a game by the same developer) that I had the urge to want to try to get better at the game and understand it. After a decent amount of hours of looking up tips and guides on the discord group and practicing a few characters, I was able to beat the CPU at hard difficulty and weave through some pretty crazy attacks. Suddenly, I saw the game in a whole new light and enjoyed it a lot more! I wish a had a friend to play it with me, but even against CPU I was having a lot of fun. I think learning fighting games the past 2 years also influenced me in learning and enjoying AoS2.
7) Lethal League Blaze [PC] - I actually ignored this game for quite a long time and didn't get it much thought. I played the original game when it was bundled with some other games I wanted and didn't like it as much. It's best described as dodgeball with Super Smash Bros. controls. The original didn't have much single-player content and I didn't have anyone to play it with. What happened was I came across a video that had a song I thought was very catchy. Then I found out the song was from Lethal League Blaze. Further more, I found out that Hideki Naganuma of Jet Set Radio fame composed a song for it as well as Bignic. I decided to give the original another chance and this time around I really tried to play and understand the game. It was interesting and new. So I waited for a sale and then picked up Blaze along with its soundtrack and convinced a friend to pick up the game with me to play. It's so much fun, but can be so difficult at a certain skill level. The music really is amazing and one of the biggest factors that got me playing the game. I tried to convince more of my friends to play it, but no one seemed interested. This game seems difficult to market.
6) Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney [3DS] - I finally got around to playing this one and it's as good as I hoped. Gameplay wise, it was okay. What I really liked was its presentation: the art, the music, the characters, the story, etc. The story was full of surprises, but it took some time to get there. I would've really liked to get through all the other Professor Layton games, but I don't think I have the patience to get through all those puzzles.
5) Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls [PC] - I've heard countless times that this game should be skipped and only the main three games should be played. I'm glad I didn't listen to those suggestions because Ultra Despair Girls was an enjoyable game and one heck of a mental trip. Without going into detail or spoilers, the story touches upon some really messed up subjects and scenarios (I'm honestly shocked it's inside a videogame). A lot of people hated the Third-Person Shooter aspect, but perhaps this is from people that played on the PS Vita. I've been lazy about getting around to 2 & 3, but I'm glad I put in the time to get through Ultra Despair Girls. What a crazy game.
4) The Evil Within 2 [PC] - Okay, I did enjoy the game a lot and it certainly had a unique quality to it that wasn't in the first game, but there are also things about it I didn't like. There was a lot of needless trekking involved that slowed down the pacing of the game. The game seemed like it wanted to stop being more of a horror game and tried to be a better action-game. I did enjoy the game, but I felt like the overall experience wasn't as balanced and captivating as the first game. I did like how they evolved the story when it seemed like there wasn't anything new they could bring after the first game.
3) Remnant: From the Ashes [PC] - I actually want to play this game some more. Remnant is a 3rd-Person Shooter Souls-like where you can co-op with 2 other players to fight some really challenging enemies. Gunplay felt nice, there was a certain degree of character building, and it worked well enough as a co-op game.
2) 100% Orange Juice [PC] - I both love and hate this game as I played it all year long. 100% OJ is a board game where you compete with other players to get a certain amount of victories in battle or collect a certain amount of starts to win. While there is a tiny bit of skill involve with decision making, a lot of the game revolves around luck. We started with having a lot of our friends playing together, but everyone started getting sick of how luck-based the game was and how often it screwed you over. There is also a co-op mode where the players work together to beat an NPC boss. I just find the game to be very enjoyable without too much effort or thinking. I still play it with one other friend and we often play now whenever there's an event. The characters are cute, the music is catchy (considering they're stock music, meaning they aren't original music made for the game and were music they bought license for to use), and the game does have its moments where we just crack up and laugh (even if its at our expense sometimes) like when I roll a one 5 times in a row.
1) River City Girls [PC] - I'm actually kind of surprised I'm placing this as #1 considering I played it at the very beginning of 2020. River City Girls really surprised me with its bright, colorful and unique art style when all other River City games STILL use the original art style and sprites. The music is also incredibly unique and fun to listen to. Despite its huge differences from the series, it still plays and feels like a River City Ransom game. The humorous animations, RPG character building aspects, and satisfying beat-em-up action resonates with the series in a new light that no other sequel or spin-off has done. I really enjoyed River City Girls, a lot.
Honorable mentions:
Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX [PC] - I was debating whether I should put this game or Blaster Master Zero 2 on the top 10 list, and what it came down to was that BMZ2 was different and unique from the first game while Gunvolt Chronicles was fairly familiar. I actually meant to play the game some more after finishing the game, but I never got around to it. I did enjoy the game a lot, and the story kind of caught me off guard because it was WAY darker than I anticipated. The last boss was also really challenging, which left an impression. I actually bought the DLC that made it even harder, but still haven't found the time to try it out. It's been so long since I've played it, I probably have to relearn all the patterns and mechanics before I could even attempt to beat it. It was a good game and I'm glad they brought to PC so quickly this time around.
The Alliance Alive [3DS] - Omg, I'm not even sure if I should give it an honorable mention. I've had this game in my 3DS for years before completing it. It had a unique battle system, I liked the characters, but my goodness the game was so long and slow! It was pretty fun, but it's not a game I'm going to revisit.
Oninaki [PC] - I was a bit disappointed with Oninaki as it turned out to be a lot clunkier than I wanted it to be. Despite its rigid combat and somewhat slow pacing, the story was fairly entertaining and killing mobs of enemies was rather cathartic. I never finished the post-game content and wonder if I should go through with it. The game left a bit of an impression on me, but I can't help but feel like it could've been a WAY better game.
Looking at my lists, it seems I've been focusing too much on PC and not enough on consoles and handhelds. I keep buying so many games on Steam that I end up playing a lot of PC games, nowadays. Hopefully I can get through some more console and handheld games in 2021.
