Gaming brings people together. It is one of the purest aspects of the medium: the constant invitation for others to come in, step into the magic circle and go crazy. (Or seriously. Or seriously-silly. Play is a lot for a lot of people.) Even when we’re talking single-player games – seemingly lonely experiences, with their stereotypical player trapped in a room, scrubbing icons from an open world map like a geographic Roomba – the desire to process the hobby we love, to discuss the games that have happily colonized our time and mind persists. We can recognize the dangers and pitfalls of the ‘gaming discourse’ – grappling with issues such as worker rights, toxic masculinity, and unfocused and savage rage on social media – while still recognizing that there are few pleasures in this world that are sublime than digging with someone different about a piece of digital art that made you feel something deep and profound. (Or even just crazy and fun. Again, playing is playing.)
Therefore, just like us every year, The AV ClubThe games crew is handing over the reins to our readers. Because we like to talk about it The games we liked in both halves from 2020 – from prestigious big budget releases to mobile entertainment – we’re just as excited about the games you liked in this wild, demanding year. So here they are: Culled from the Keyboard Geniuses competing in last week’s favorite games of the year, The Games You Liked in 2020.
First, here’s AmaltheaElanor, about the inclusivity of Final Fantasy VII Remake:
I mentioned this back on the semi-annual point, but I liked it Final Fantasy VII Remake because it made itself accessible to newcomers like me. The original game is so revered in game culture and I missed the boat pretty well when I played the first time. I went in with almost no knowledge (I knew Sephiroth is killing Aeris, and that’s about it). interfere in any way with my enjoyment of the game. On the contrary: it has great production values and a really great combat system (something that I generally liked less and less about JRPGs). And while I don’t have the same 20+ years of attachment to the characters, I found myself delighted with them anyway, thanks to great writing and performances. It is also nice to be informed; for the first time in forever, i finally become one of the fans who “get it” when it comes to Final Fantasy VII.
Ditto erakbgg, which is also a nod to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout:
I loved Final Fantasy VII: Remake for changing my opinion about real-time combat in an FF game. I don’t usually like to fight in a 3D environment, however FFVII: R‘s mix of real-time fighting and pause for some old-fashioned FF menus were beautifully implemented. I enjoyed it so much that I doubled and played again FFXII For the first time.
I love Fall guys because it’s so fast and wonderfully stupid, you can’t stay mad about it for long. I don’t have the attention span to spend hours playing games. Ironic, Fall guys‘Fast mini-games and’ just one more ‘attitude have resulted in sessions lasting more than 4 hours for me. Thank goodness my wife loves the soundtrack, otherwise she would have gone crazy by now.
Several users agreed with our choice Hades as one of the best of the year, including Evan Waters:
Damn is Hades awesome. It’s simply the best feedback loop I’ve ever seen: you go out and break things, you eventually die, you are rewarded with cool storylines and interactions with neat characters as well as tangible improvements to your skills and new options. A bad run will still get you some results at home, but the good runs feel really nice, and you just get a little bit better.
Meanwhile, Liebkartoffel praised the game’s highly customizable difficulty setting:
Hades‘ God Mode was a lifesaver for someone with dum-dum-fingers like me, and it was the first roguelite / like I’ve played that after the first few hours, I didn’t feel quite frustrated and bored. I really appreciated that I could experience the gameplay, story and aesthetics like everyone else, but at my skill level, and in such a way that I never felt like I was cheating. Beat Hades – then hit Hades-was such a rewarding experience even if only I could do it with ~ 40% damage reduction.
And needle.hacksaw spoke of its narrative focus:
As someone who both liked Supergiant Bastion and finds rogue likes a near-perfect genre if you’re looking for short, focused sessions that feel meaningful when you get started, it’s no wonder Hades is my game of the year. I stopped playing when I first beat the overworld boss. There are other rogue likes that I’ve played more – sometimes even to the point where I got frustrated with the fact that my will wasn’t strong enough to put it aside. I think the focus is on narrative in it Hades gave me a sense of accomplishment by reaching an “end” that was actually very welcome. It truly is a culmination of everything Supergiant does well.
The mainstay of games, Merve has dished up some great indie choices:
I liked it Timelie because it surprised me with its cleverness. At first sight, Timelie looks like a fairly measured stealth puzzle game. But as it adds mechanics and complexity, it reveals hidden depths. And then it pulls a twist that is so overwhelmingly smart that I still can’t get it out of my head. It completely re-contextualizes the previous puzzles of the game. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s akin to discovering the “portal paint” in Portal 2. Timelie is the debut game from Urnique Studio and now they have my attention for everything they will release in the future.
I liked it Golf with your friends because it allowed me to play golf with my friends. That sounds crazy, but it is true. GWYF is a janky experience that’s a little more polished than Cyberpunk 2077but when you play with your friends it is sublime. It turns into a crazy party game that bends and breaks the laws of physics. And who has never wanted to punch physics in the stupid, ugly face?
I liked it Necrobarista because it solved death by making it more mysterious. That sounds like a contradiction in terms, so let me explain. Necrobarista is about a magically realistic coffee shop where the dead go before continuing to the other side. Baristas act as psychopomps, giving words of wisdom and a warm cup of coffee before leading the deceased to the afterlife. What awaits them there? The game has no answers. But by embracing the fact that death is ultimately unknowable, Necrobarista helps us untangle our complex emotions about it.
While Robottowa punched hard for a match that was an easy inclusion on our mid-year list:
The game that most defined my year was The Last Of Us Part II. The original The last of us is one of my all-time favorite games and was kind of a swan song for my relationship with video games – it was the last AAA game I played before my life just got too busy to play games. When I heard that a sequel was being made, I was incredibly skeptical: the end of the first The last of us is perfect, and I thought a sequel would be an exaggeration. But it wasn’t. Part II is a masterpiece. Sure, in its sprawling nature, storytelling hits a few snags than its predecessor, but the game’s ambition pays off more often than not. Even aspects of the game that I didn’t like in the end – the mid-game twist – grew on me a lot. Every character in the game is endearing, complex and understandable. So much of the game is spent hoping people will make the right choice. It deserves its final dramatic showdown, mining relationships built over the course of both games to create a catharsis that really made me sob. It’s also just incredible as a game; graphically I can’t think of anything that equals it, and all of its systems work wonderfully to put you in the shoes of its protagonists. It also has so many memorable locations and set pieces: the broadcasting station, the first time you meet Scars, the hospital (both times you go there), the sniper, the sky bridge, the village. There’s so much I love about this game – even the superficial and butthurt discourse around it hasn’t spoiled me with it.
Finally, Hank_Dolworth gave a passionate defense to the free-to-play phenomenon Genshin Impact:
Am I the first to move Genshin Impact on this list? I’ve played quite a few f2p games over the years. TO GIVE still has a rotating “banner” of placeholders, but they eventually connect to it Zelda-clones like all other characters. Importantly, leveling these characters requires as many boss battles and collectibles as any other character; there is no way to optimize your character through in-app purchases outside of the banner / sign mechanic itself. Honestly, TO GIVE feels more like a “real game” than it Avengers game I paid $ 30 with microtransactions baked into so many aspects of the game’s service model. I have yet to put real money into the title … but I feel like I should be backing a game that is said to have made a profit in the first few weeks. This is the game I play on PS5 while waiting for most of the ‘real’ 2020 games to get their next generation paint job
As Perfolas pulled back from behind for some great games from years past that got their day in the sun in 2020:
Watch Dogs 2. Yes, I cheat. It is not London, it’s San Francisco. London is still too expensive. But Watch Dogs 2 is really great. It omits the grim vigilante thriller tone of the original for a more nonsensical fun hipster adventure comedy and an all-out stupid plot where self-righteous pseudo-ethical hackers battle the evil companies trying to do exactly the same things as them. But so much fun. Powerful escapism across a city through parkour and all-powerful magic hacking. A feeling of lightness and freedom, in an ordinary, conventional everyday environment. With a touch of real tourism and a real love of San Francisco’s history, culture and attractions. I am quite convinced that the 2020 Guard dogs is just as good (although I can imagine London as a duller city), but it’s not the one I played in 2020.
If you’d like to read more of our readers’ opinion on the best games of 2020 – and you really should, as there’s a lot more gold we can’t include here without blowing this feature all the way up to 2021 – check out then the comments section of our official list. (And sounds down here, if you like!) Have fun gaming, folks, and have a great 2021.