The Games I Played in 2020
Coming into 2020, one of my vague resolutions for the year was to complete more games and just generally game more than I usually do. Coincidentally, turns out this year turned out to be the year to do so. Unlike many of my other boring resolutions, I did very well with sticking with this one.
As the year winds to a close, I felt compelled to shout my opinions into the void. For most people, this means making a best-of list and maybe even doing a ranking. I played many great games this year, and I want to touch on all of them. I’m also terrible at ranking things, so I’m not going to bother too much with that.
Without further ado, here’s a whirlwind of my thoughts on most every game I played in 2020, ordered by the day I first played them. I’ve previously written longer reviews for a select few games and will link to them where appropriate.
Borderlands 3
Saad and I played through the base game and every DLC except the last one (and we are getting back to it very soon!) The base game is essentially a Quality-of-Life improvement over the previous games. I never cared for the story in Borderlands anyways, so I was not let down by the writing. The Lovecraftian DLC had a cool vibe though.
Breath of the Wild
Controversial take incoming: I didn’t like BotW and feel like it’s overrated. Probably didn’t help that I binged the entire game in a few weeks and didn’t explore much. I didn’t like that the open world was so empty, and I don’t care for the puzzle shrines. This is also my first Zelda game, so I didn’t come in with any preconceived notions or nostalgia.
The Last of Us Remastered
The clunky gameplay got in the way of the cutscenes. Full review
God of War (2018)
This game is amazing. (Only slightly) longer review
Mario Odyssey
Great platformer and the game design encouraged exploration, but the motion controls turned me off, so I never finished
Asgard’s Wrath
Underrated VR gem. I didn’t finish it, but it’s a full 40 hour openish world RPG. You play as both a Norse god and the human body the god inhabits. The puzzles encourage VR exploration as both an eye-in-the-sky and as a human on the ground. There were also some cool set pieces where the sense of scale is heightened by VR.
Neverwinter
A D&D MMO. I only played this because Kyle wanted to play. My main impression is that the number of in-game currencies is too damn high. I still have no clue how any of this works even though Kyle has explained it to me a dozen times.
Diablo 3
Picked this up for PC so I could have game to play while listening to podcasts. Fits that niche very well for me
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
The final DLC of the game was released, the Fantastic 4 DLC. It’s the only DLC with story content, and it was a fun comic style story. There were some frustrating, borderline impossible platforming sections. ARPGs should not be 3d platformers.
Animal Crossing
The onset of the pandemic in the US was pretty anxiety and worry inducing. Animal Crossing coming in was the first time where I felt ready to adapt for the new normal. It was a fun few weeks, and gaming the Stalk Market with friends kinda using a Discord bot that I wrote was a highlight of the year. As a primarily night time gamer, Tom Nook should be running a 24/7 store.
Half Life: Alyx
I played through half the game, and I’ve heard good things about the ending. But the half I played I was lukewarm on. It’s very well polished for a VR game, but it doesn’t stack up against equivalent pancake games, and I don’t think it uses VR as innovatively as other games in the space. I also have no nostalgia for the Half Life series.
Persona 5 Royal
My full review hits all the points, so not going to repeat
Division 2
Gameplay wise, I mostly enjoyed Division 2. It was quite strange to play it in 2020, where we had both a plague and civil unrest in Washington, D.C. in real life. Against the backdrop of 2020, it’s a weird to play such an apolitical political game.
Minecraft
Mostly an excuse to host my own server, control it with a Discord bot, and write my own Minecraft mods
The Elder Scrolls Online
Not sure what got me to check out ESO, but I really liked what I played – once I upgraded to ESO+ for a month or two. I really like that the entire map is open to you because there’s no level gating, and questing can be done entirely solo. ESO+ for the inventory management perks is a bit sneaky as a monetization scheme, but once I upgraded, the experience was very enjoyuble. I hope to return to this game someday.
Minecraft Dungeons
Very well made as an entry-level ARPG for kids and casual players. The wide variety of loot and having skills tied to loot means that you get to try a lot of different builds without the need to lock into a class at the start.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
This is my “Game that was released in 2020 of the Year”. It wasn’t a perfect experience, but it was a fresh experience, and I like to be taken by surprise. See my longer review for more
The Last of Us Part II
I really enjoyed the gameplay (once I adjusted their granular settings to fit my playstyle), and the game oozes technical excellence. I agree with the pacing issues, but I’ll avoid saying more to avoid spoilers. More in-depth review
Halo: Combat Evolved
The gameplay feels somewhat dated, especially with no aim-down-sights or sprinting. The environments were great for their time, but I got bored with killing waves of the same enemy repeatedly.
Skyrim
Skyrim’s so white, I felt like I was at a University of Oregon frat party. Also, I got used to ESO controls and got frustrated that Skyrim wasn’t the same.
Ghost of Tsushima
This is a really good take on Assassin’s Creed. The melee combat is interesting, and the world is pretty, but the side content is a bit limited. I think a sequel could fix many of my complaints. In-depth review
Deep Rock Galactic
Very interesting co-op game. Does a decent job of gameifying parts of Minecraft
Fall Guys
It’s the only battle royale where I’ve won more than zero times. That automatically makes it the best Battle Royale in my opninion
Wasteland 3
Cool Fallout-esque turn-based RPG. The game got lost in the shuffle, and maybe I’ll pick it up again.
Marvel’s Avengers
I enjoyed the campaign, as comic book-y as it was. The post-game content is repititive and lacking and the enemies get annoying with their one-shot kills and just being bullet sponges. That said, I really feel like Crystal Dynamics did a decent job of walking the line of making each character distinct while maintaining cohesion so that it’s easier to hop between characters. The Kate Bishop DLC was very well crafted and makes me more optimistic about future content.
Hades
The gameplay loop didn’t hook me the same way as it did for others. I do like how the story acknowledges the roguelite mechanics, but I never felt compelled to see the story and character interactions through. I might play again in god mode if I’m bored and only have my Switch.
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
I finally got around to the Fate of Atlantis DLC, which adds three new, very large mythological areas (through animus magic). I wanted more Odyssey, and this delivered very well.
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
I am still playing through Valhalla and will have a full review when I do. So far, I have not liked it as much as Odyssey because of the mechanical differences of the game.
Yakuza 0
Full review when I finish this soon. But “Martin Scoresese film interrupted by episodes of the Simpsons” is an apt description.
Halo Master Chief Collection Multiplayer
I’m not very good at it, but I still had fun. The fast pace and how quickly you can get back into it after dying kept my attention.
Apex Legends
I’ve always been Fortnite curious but didn’t want to deal with the insane building mechanics. Apex fit that niche.
Gears 5
Graphics are pretty. Story is like a CW show. Gameplay is fine
Cyberpunk 2077
I thought I could make V more my own, but it seems like V is a pretty set personality. Once I accepted that and created a new character with that knowledge, I enjoyed the game much more. I’m still let down by the lack of a barber, tatoo artist, and any driving AI. Once the February patch rolls around, I will jump back in.
Warframe
Too much grinding.
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
Scavenger Hunt: The Game. After getting more abilities and magic, the combat is more fun.
No Man’s Sky
First few planets were cool. But once I saw a few, I felt like I’ve seen them all.