Whenever I write these Game Of The Year posts, I always think back on the kind of year we had from both a gaming perspective, as well as a general world view. Needless to say, but 2020 was one hell of a year that I doubt many of us will forget for a long time. Sadly though, it's not because of a great line-up of interesting games, but because so many have lost their lives and their livelihoods as a result of the global pandemic.
It might seem silly to focus on video games while real people are suffering in record numbers, but perhaps it's the perfect time as well. After all, many of us were forced to work from home in 2020, giving us more time to play games and pursue our hobbies. I managed to finish more games in 2020 than I have in any other year of the past decade, simply because I spent more time at home. One of the good outcomes I will remember about 2020 was all of the times I was able to play games online with friends, which was never really an option before everyone was unable to go out.
However, the reality of 2020 is always going to be that so many people around the world not only lost their jobs and their dreams, but so many lost their lives as well. Thus, while I continue to write about my favourite games from the year 2020, please know that any opinions I offer pale in comparison to the tragic impact that the pandemic has had on our world.
As always there were a few big names that I never managed to play during the year, like the now infamous Cyberpunk 2077. I have a copy sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to play, but I decided to wait until the game had been patched back to a working state before diving in. Especially when I didn't find the time to play other excellent titles like Ghost Of Tsushima and Hades, both of which are also waiting patiently to be played, and will no doubt get fired up long before their buggy counterpart.
To add insult to injury, so many games were delayed and pushed back during 2020, as the pandemic impacted every industry in one way or another. There were plenty of games I looked forward to, who still haven't seen a release date, but I hope that their development teams are finding ways to survive and complete their games soon.
Suffice to say that I feel like this year's GOTY selection has been a bit more eclectic than in previous years, but I'll let you be the judge. Right now though, let's kick things off with my favourite game that I played from the year that was 2020.
The Longing
When I looked over my list of 2020 games that I'd played, nothing stood out more than The Longing as a truly unique and surprising experience. In fact, the only other game that came close, was out of the running by default, thanks to game-breaking bugs holding it back. On the other hand, every minute I spent with The Longing was one more moment of intrigue and discovery.
I loved the way the game dealt with time and the feeling of loneliness that The Shade experiences as he waits 400 days for his king to wake up. At first you feel lost and helpless as you slowly explore the corridors and rooms of the deserted and dormant kingdom. Whatever direction you chose to walk, there was always something to discover and another path to follow.
What's more, the way that certain areas were locked away for days and months of IRL time, only helped emphasise the grinding futility of any kind of rush or impatience. Then, just as we're getting used to the glacial pace of the game, and waiting a long time for The Shade to accomplish anything, we learn that we'd been able to manipulate the passing of time all along. Suddenly the IRL 400 days that we were waiting for, aren't all that far away.
I've never played another game quite like The Longing, and I doubt there will be many like it in the future. To even design a game like this takes a certain amount of artistic risk that I'm sure many marketing-types would warn against. However, for those who love an original and surprising experience, something like The Longing has a lot to offer.
This is undoubtedly my GOTY for 2020, as nothing else I played even came close to the same level of creativity and bold design choices that make this game great. I admit that it might not be to everyone's liking, but for my taste, this was a thrilling and endlessly fascinating experience that I'm not sad I will not be able to repeat. I'd love everyone to at least check out the game, and see if it piques your interest, as it's worth supporting and I want to see more from this developer in the future.
Spiritfarer
For a while there, Spiritfarer was at the top of my 2020 GOTY list, simply because I loved everything about the game and connected with it deeply from start to finish. However, this felt like a game that was really trying to make me hate it from the day it was released, even though it had very little to do with the game itself.
I'm not really the kind of gamer who gets too obsessed with what's happening behind the scenes and on social media, but after encountering a game-breaking bug during my first attempt at playing Spiritfarer, I took to the internet in search of a solution. Thankfully the developers were responding to questions and regretfully informed me that the bug that had ended my game had since been fixed in a patch, but I would need to restart the game to play it all the way through.
To make matters worse, there was a bit of a social media outcry over some of the dialogue written for a disabled character in the game, who spent their life in a wheelchair. As Spiritfarer is all about moving on, this character said something about being happy to get out of their chair as they passed away and ascended into their next life. People found this objectionable for suggesting that a disabled person might be unhappy with their lot in life, so the usual extremists ranted and raved so much online that the developers of the game edited out the entire scenario.
This was incredibly frustrating, as I was already enjoying the game a lot, but having to restart the game and learning that the developers hadn't stuck to their original vision felt about as appealing as a tall glass of cold piss. It wasn't until I'd stepped away from the game for a few weeks that I was able to pick it up again and enjoy it for what it was, which is a beautifully realised story about death, loss, and human relationships.
It's a compliment to the game that I ended up playing it twice, even after rage-quitting in disgust at the bugs that made it unplayable, and the IRL drama that should never have been pandered to. However, after finishing off Spiritfarer once and for all, and seeing everything it had to offer, I'm glad I took the time and was able to experience this beautiful little gem of a game.
Maneater
I'm not sure I could have leaped further away from the beautifully sensitive and poignant nature of the previous game, to the comically gratuitous violence of Maneater. When this game was released, I had never heard of it and had no idea that it was even a thing worth looking at. At least not until I saw some footage online of a huge shark leaping out of the water and frantically gobbling up a number of screaming humans.
As disturbing as it might sound, this game is very much my kind of thing.
Sure I love a bit of an open world with different objectives and collectibles to keep you busy, but I also love a ridiculous level of violence and spectacle that has no concern for realism or delicate sensitivities. Maneater kind of feels like the Doom of the shark-game world, if such a thing were to ever exist, as it's as frantic and fast paced as a classic FPS, but polished and well put together like a modern aquatic murder simulator.
Maneater spends no amount of time trying to convince you that it's taking itself seriously, which is a breath of fresh air sometimes. There's a lot to be said for a game whose purpose is to be nothing more than entertaining and exciting to play. To that end, I can't think of a more consistently enjoyable and flat-out fun game from 2020, than this one.
Where games like The Longing and Spiritfarer will stay with me thanks to a deep emotional impact, every time I think of Maneater, I get a smile on my face. Not because I remember a beautiful moment in the story, or something rad that I discovered after hours of searching, but the image of a huge shark flopping about on a beach as it dives for nearby humans, always cracks me up.
Once again, I'm fairly certain that this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who like some flat-out gratuitous fun, you need to try this game.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
These are games that I spent some time considering and weighing up against each other for the best games of 2020. Basically I couldn't write this post without at least pointing out the following titles, as each of them came incredibly close to the top spots.
In order of release:
Murder By Numbers
I'm a big fan of games that successfully fuse a couple of genres together in a new and satisfying way. Murder By Numbers managed to create a fun visual novel mystery story and wrap it around a series of picross puzzles that are integral to the story. In fact, the last time I had this much fun with a mash-up of genres, was when I played Huniepop for the first time. I only hope that we get to see more of these combinations, as they often become much better than the sum of their parts, and I'm always up for some interesting takes on the puzzle genre format.
Beyond A Steel Sky
Remakes are nice and all, but a fresh sequel to one of the all-time classic point-and-click adventures from back in the day is something to take notice of. I loved how the story picked up years after the first, but followed directly on from those original events. Plus, I really liked the ways that this modern sequel adapted traditional point-and-click mechanics to a three dimensional space. The writing is still funny, the characters are still over the top, and the game is another joy to experience. Definitely a must play if you're a fan of its classic predecessor: Beneath A Steel Sky.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
I know for a fact that I'm not alone when I say that this is the remake so many of us have been waiting for, and it's actually a really good one! After the horrible failure that was Tony Hawk HD, I couldn't be happier to get my hands on a remake of the original games that's actually well-made and respects the legacy of this enormous franchise. There's not a lot else to say other than this is perhaps the best skateboarding fun you can have in a video game to this day.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
I may not have finished this one yet, but I'm far enough in to know that this is another masterpiece from Vanillaware and I can't wait to see how the story will resolve. It could have easily been higher in the ranks if I'd finished the game, but I have to admit that there are still some areas where it might fall flat on its face. That and I really have a difficult time with JRPGs, or anything that comes close, so the amount of Japanese high school students in this game can be a little off-putting at times. Nevertheless, I'm really enjoying the intricate plot, as well as the hybrid turn-based/RTS combat layer.
THE LIST
As usual, let's finish with a big list of the games released in 2020 that I actually played. I mentioned it at the top, but there are some obvious titles missing like Cyberpunk 2077 and Hades, but unfortunately there's no avoiding it when you're just one person playing whatever games are available to you.
If you've read any previous GOTY posts on this blog, then this is much the same. I've included the platform I played each game on, and if I've written a post about a game the title will link there if you'd like to find out more.
Kentucky Route Zero (Win)
Wide Ocean Big Jacket (Win)
The Longing (Win)
Murder By Numbers (Win)
Call Of Duty: Warzone (PS4)
Hidden Through Time (Win)
Doom Eternal (XBO)
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered (PS4)
Moving Out (XBO)
Snowrunner (Win)
Maneater (Win)
Minecraft Dungeons (XBO)
This Call May Be Recorded (Win)
Beyond Blue (PS4)
Hi-Score Boi (Win)
Beyond A Steel Sky (Win)
Carrion (XBO)
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (PS4)
Spiritfarer (XBO)
Battletoads (2020) (XBO)
Tell Me Why (XBO)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PS4)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS4)
Genshin Impact (Win)
The Solitaire Conspiracy (Win)
I Am Dead (Win)
10mg Collection (Win)
Carto (XBO)
Watch Dogs: Legion (XBO)