2020 was one hell of a year and video games, more than ever, did the heavy lifting when it came to taking my mind of things. My list this year is full of giant blockbusters, small indie titles, and a tiny dose of nostalgia. It’s not the list I imagined going into 2020, and not even the one I imagined less than a month ago, but despite that I’m happy with it. I feel as though it’s a true reflection of how these impacted me, more so than most years.
Honorable Mentions
I’ll kick it off with a couple of honorable mentions. First is Call of the Sea. This is a story-driven puzzle game that has you exploring an exotic island in search of your missing husband. As you uncover clues things began to turn a little… cosmic. Unlike some Lovecraftian stories, Call of the Sea doesn’t revel in the imagery associated with the genre, but instead uses its themes more subtly.
Ghostrunner is a game I dove into a few weeks ago. It’s a beautiful, fast-paced action game all about timing and accuracy. I only played a couple of hours, so I couldn’t in good faith add it to my proper list, but I hope to return to it soon.
10. Hardspace: Shipbreaker
This game has been in early access on Steam for most of 2020, but has been a solid experience since day one. You take on the role of a contractor who’s responsible for tearing apart obsolete spaceships. Using a plasma cutter and a grappling hook, you peel away layers of these ships and recycle them. You earn money based on efficiency and completing special requisitions, and use that money to slowly get yourself out of massive debt. As I played I imagined myself as Issac from Dead Space, but before the spooky monsters
9. Watch Dogs: Legion
I’ve always wanted to love a Watch Dogs game, but both the first and second pushed away in different ways. While Watch Dogs Legion isn’t perfect, its simplification of the hacking abilities and general wackiness of the open world made it easy to get into. The story left a bit to be desired, mostly because of some strange tonal shifts, but the streets of London did feel alive when you walked down the street. I hope they come back next time with a more personal story, but keep the same devil-may-care attitude about the open world.
8. The Last Campfire
This little gem is Hello Game’s first game since launching No Man’s Sky. A small passion project by the team, it tells a sobering story of death and acceptance. You play as Ember, a small being tasked with reigniting the campfires that lead the spirits of the dead to the underworld. Along your journey you’ll come across a cast of larger than life characters and solve some clever puzzles. It’s a beautiful game that wraps itself up in about 3 hours. Perfect for a rainy afternoon.
7. ASTRONEER
ASTRONEER is a game that came out of early access last year and that I’ve played on and off for years. This was the first game I really sunk into during the early summer, when COVID-19 lockdowns began. It was easy for me to get lost in the peaceful, beautiful world. Terraforming and exploring the deep depth of the planets were perfect to pass the long days of quarantine.
6. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
The conclusion to Assassin’s Creed’s latest trilogy and the series final transformation into The Witcher III. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla provides the player with a massive, varied open world full of big and small stories to experience. While this feels very much like an anthology of stories like The Witcher III, it’s also focused around establishing a Viking settlement in Dark Ages England. The setting really can’t be overstated here as it is as much a character as everyone else. The gorgeous English country side is paired against brown, mucky swamps and makeshift cites built among ancient Roman ruins. It’s the best the series has been since Origins and maybe even Black Flag.
5. Ghost of Tsushima
What an absolute visual masterpiece. Every leaf, blade of grass, and flower petal looks handcrafted in Sucker Punch’s dramatic departure from the Infamous series. If the visual splendor alone wasn’t enough, the great mix of stealth and samurai combat should help keep you occupied while liberating the country side. The anthology aspect of the side stories and character arches of the main story help to pull you along through the forests, swamps, mountains, and fields of Tsushima Island. It may be a little overloaded with side distractions, but staying focused is greatly rewarded.
With a game as beautiful as Ghost of Tsushima, it was also a joy taking amazing screenshot using the game’s built in photo mode. Sucker Punch knew exactly what they had here and cut no corners to show it off.
4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
I loved Ori and the Blind Forest. I found it to be one of the best Medtroid-style platformers of the modern era. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is everything that first game is, but more. It really feels like this was the game they truly wanted Blind Forest to be. It maintains the pixel-perfect platforming and kinetic combat of the first game, while expanding the story and adding in a whole cast of voiced side characters. Of course the visuals are absolutely amazing, with more hand drawn environments, animations, and gorgeous lighting. It’s a big, beautiful, challenging game that should be on everyone platfomer fan’s wishlist.
3. Bugsnax
Bugnax is weird, there’s no other way to put it. You have to go in accepting that weirdness or you will bounce right off of it. The writing is goofy, but heartfelt, and the voice acting is some of the best of the year, and that is where the game really shines. The back drop of finding, and trapping, Pokemon-style foodified bugs is almost a distraction to break up the great character and world building. The trapping of Bugsnax is challenging and fun, so committing yourself to “catch ’em all” is actually enjoyable, if a little repetitive after a while. I just can’t undersell the charm and wholesomeness of the world and characters.
2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
A massive blast from the past at the perfect time. I’ve always loved the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, at least up to THPS4, and 2020 was the perfect time to sink into this amazing collection. By seriously upgrading the visuals and performance, but keeping the feel and music of the original releases, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 really reflects how I remember these games. The formula may be dated, but reliving the old locations and trying to check off all the objectives completely pulled my focus for a few weeks. Unfortunately the package offers little outside of the careers of those first two games and once you’re done there’s not much else to do. The massive amount of cosmetic collectibles wasn’t enough to keep me going. Hopefully this is the start of a rebirth of the series because I for one really want to see the Bird Man fly again.
1. Spiritfarer
What an absolutely surprising gem Spiritfarer is. A game about ferrying dead spirits to the underworld shouldn’t be this cathartic, but a beautiful coat of paint goes a long way. Spiritfarer’s unique mix of sailing, crafting, and dialogue makes the sometimes long-winded journeys worth the trip. The way each character you pick slowly reveals themselves to you over the course of their quests makes inevitably saying goodbye so difficult. I often kept them around long after they asked to be sent off the underworld just so I could spend a few more minutes them, and get one last hug. It is a little unfortunate that the game can devolve into more of a material hunt near the end, but it’s a good thing the gameplay and presentation is spectacular enough to make you want to push through that. It was a game I kept coming back to in the last half of 2020. A warm blanket to put on when the action and stress of other games turned me off. It was also a great reminder of our own mortality, self-awareness, and ultimately our self acceptance. In a year that asked a lot of us, some more than others, it was important to be reminded that every life has value.
