My Favorite Games of 2020
The games I loved in 2020, ranked
This post is coming out a bit late (mid-January), but I’m still working my way through 2020’s wealth of excellent titles. My PS5 has finally arrived, so I’ve been dedicating my hours to Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Consider them both honorable mentions at this point, and we’ll see where we are in a few months.
Let’s talk top five: each of these games defined my year. They came out all across the last twelve months, entertaining me, terrifying me, and making me smile at times when I needed them most. Here they are, loosely ranked. My favorite games of 2020.
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The world is a better place for having Animal Crossing: New Horizons in it. People were obsessed with this game, and I’m not ashamed to admit I was one of them. It’s so adorable and wonderful. It’s not a perfect game by any means. Some of the design choices are baffling, but they do not detract from the overall experience too much.
I love my house in New Horizons. My living room, home theater, study, and my two treasure rooms. I love that my wife and I share our island and have built it the way that we want. It takes time to get anywhere in New Horizons, but I wouldn’t trade that time for anything.
4. Ghost of Tsushima
I loved my time with Ghost of Tsushima. When I started it up, I was underwhelmed. It seemed like an Assassin’s Creed-Ubisoft open world rip-off without much to offer. But as the hours unfolded, I saw that Ghost is so much more than that.
It’s one of the most beautiful games on PS4. I took SO many screenshots. I customized my armor and took screenshots. I changed outfits and found new and unusual ways to kill Mongols for each new shot. I’m not much of a Photo Mode person, but I found myself jumping into it more than I ever would have thought possible as I journeyed across Tsushima.
The combat is quick and bloody. You have your trusty swords and a belt full of deadly weaponry at hand. You — as Jin Sakai — can stealth or slash your way through the Mongol invasion. I usually went in sword swinging, but the game rarely made me choose another option. Completing this Platinum trophy was made all the easier by Sucker Punch’s quality of life improvements to the open world formula. I hope other studios take note.
3. Hades
Hades is a game about depth.
You start low and find your way through each level of Hades, growing more and more powerful as you go. The combat and enemies seem insurmountable at first. That changes. The characters seem like one note and selfish gods at first blush, but that impression will not stick around. Hades itself looks like just another rogue-like, but nothing has been less true.
I’m still playing Hades. I’m still gathering darkness and mastering this game’s robust combat systems. I played this so I could see what the fuss was about and walked away very impressed.
2. Persona 5 Royal
I love the slick way that Persona does everything. It’s in the small details, the flourishes that build to a greater whole. I love the back-flips the characters do when you execute enemies during a Stick-up. I love the rumbling animation that comes with the subway loading screen. I love the supernatural feel of the Velvet Room and the individual style of each and every Palace.
To think that I put 120 hours into this title and still want more speaks to how incredible this game truly is. The new ‘Royal’ portion fixes so many issues with the base game and really elevates it into something that every PS4 gamer should experience.
Come for the music, the characters, and the fascinating RPG elements. Stay for Persona 5 Royal’s heart and the friends you’ll make in this digital Tokyo.
1. The Last of Us: Part II
I loved my time with The Last of Us: Part II. When I think about video games — what I love about them, what I hate — this game feels like the perfect pick for me.
I don’t love multiplayer titles, and most rough-like/random experiences leave me feeling dry. I come to gaming for the stories. As the years have gone by and game tech has evolved, studios have found easier and easier ways to tell stories in this unique medium. The Last of Us: Part II has found a new depth in gaming story-telling. Shifts in viewpoint this drastic led a lot of people to drop this game hard. It’s hard to root for bad people, and Abby and Ellie are bad people.
I felt bruised after playing this game. I felt savaged. This is not just a simple revenge story. It’s an epic of what it means to find the light in so much fungal darkness. It’s a linear game, but the story takes its cues from literature and cinema to craft a story that doesn’t follow your standard story structure. So much of this story is familiar, but it has never been told like this in this medium. Ellie and Abby are two of my favorite characters of the year, and Naughty Dog’s creative team deserve every speck of credit possible.
It’s not a perfect game. But I think it deserves to hang with all the other imperfect stunners available on the PS4. It has bits of Uncharted 4 (game play), Red Dead Redemption 2 (the mature and heart-wrenching story), and God of War (guilt and violent natures). People talk about this game and call it ‘unfun’. I think the game is a blast to play, even with the unbelievable violence and devastation. I like being put through my paces. I love to feel the catharsis that comes with entertainment like The Last of Us: Part 2.
The End
Those are my top 5. A little sweet, but a lot of violence. I’m excited for the new year and what next year’s list looks like.
