1. Hob (multi, played on PC)
I started this one on a whim after my last day of work for the year, as I was trying to figure out what to play. I thought 'Oh, right, Hob, I got that for free from the Epic Store some time ago, installed it, and never played, so why not?'
This game blew me away. From the simple but gorgeous graphics, the incredible visual design of the ruins and the environments, the puzzles and the exploration, the very subtle audio... (To be honest though, I spent a good chunk of my time with this game listening to podcasts. The visual-only storytelling makes it perfect for that.) The combat was simple enough that someone who doesn't really pay that much attention to combat systems in general was able to get through most of the encounters without too much frustration on normal difficulty. Also, I felt that the experience had pretty much the correct length (I think it took me about 10 hours or so). As soon as I was finished, I started a second playthrough, which I will probably finish in the next few days. It's really that good.
2. Ring Fit Adventure (Switch)
Not really a game per se, more like a personal trainer that keeps you moving. It completely accomplished that goal this year (especially after my gym was closed for obvious reasons). It looks pretty good, the music is fun, the story is stupid but kept me moving anyway, and mixing exercices with RPG-style battles is a pretty smart idea! On a technical front, for the most part this work really well (except for that one time that the game did not register that I was squatting which caused my character to get KO'd). I bought this on January 2nd, never expecting that I would get as much mileage out of it as I did this year.
3. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (multi, played on PC)
Although I think Rise had a better story and was overall a better game, I think this one is still my favorite of the rebooted series. (I still think Tomb Raider Legend is the best TR game, but that's a story for another day.) I liked the fact that there just wasn't as much combat in this one, and it was really more focused on exploration and solving environmental puzzles (my favorite part of any TR game). Also, it was nice to explore a jungle instead of the frozen tundra. I loved the visuals of the various ruins and, while I didn't really care for the story, I still had a lot of fun exploring the environments, even though some of Lara's new abilities just didn't really make sense, and I kinda wish future installments of the series went back to the roots of the original with having a very limited set of abilities. One quick note about the graphics: As I was playing the game, I kept thinking that if this was the pinacle of videogame visuals, I'd be OK with that. I really don't care about game graphics getting better than this.
4. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II (multi, played on Vita)
The story probably did not have the same impact on me as the developers probably wanted (mostly because I did not really care for a good portion of the huge cast of playable characters), but I still had a great time with this one. The battle system was great (and super complex, judging by the number of discussions we had in the JRPG game club thread about it), the music was fantastic, I liked the snowboarding and card minigames, and some of the characters were pretty good! As with most JRPGs, it overstayed its welcome by about 10 hours, and there were many plot points that had me scratching my head (some of which are apparently explained in prior games that were unfortunately never localized in an official capacity). Particularly the first epilogue. The fact that you get an airship and can pretty much go wherever during the second act is a great change of pace from the very linear sequence of towns and dungeons from the first game and the first act of the second game. I am really looking forward to Cold Steel III (which I will play... someday...)
The Vita version was probably the worst of all the ports of the game, and yet I didn't really mind all that much. The graphics were fine on the small screen, but did not look that great when I played the game on my Playstation TV. The framerate was atrocious in some sections (I suspect it had something to do with having so many characters on screen at some points, and some of the spell effects).
5. Cuphead (multi, played on PC)
Confession: I did not finish this one. I got to the final boss of the second island and called it quits. I just don't have the patience anymore, nor the ability (which, to be fair, I may never had had). That does not change the fact that I think this is a brilliant game, from the animations to the gameplay, the enemy design and the music. Everything just matches perfectly to what little of animation from the 1930's I've seen. From a visual standpoint, I think this game is just perfect. I had a lot of fun playing what I've played of it (about 60%, according the my save data), but alas, it was just too hard for me, and I ended up giving up on it.
1. Fire Emblem Three Houses (Nintendo Switch) - I fell in love so hard with this game. I love Fire Emblem to begin with, but there's something about these adolescents in a military academy with a professor who has no clue how the world works, who spends their free time as a mobile lost-and-found and has tea parties with hardened war criminals... I'm in the middle of my sixth playthrough, and I'm a total fangirl. I want to go to Fodlan and be the therapist these kids so badly need, because every single one of them is traumatized in some way, shape, or form.
2. Hades (PC, Nintendo Switch) - Roguelikes aren't my cuppa, but they had me at Greek mythology. I've been meaning to sink my teeth into a Supergiant game for years now (Bastion and Transistor have been collecting dust in my Steam library), but never really had the impetus until now. I love the lore. The way Zagreus interacts with everyone. He's so respectful to everyone, except for those who are dicks to him. The bits of story that get revealed as you play again and again... it's why I've done 80-something runs so far.
3. Animal Crossing New Horizons (Nintendo Switch) - Animal Crossing helped get me through the first few months of the pandemic. It helped get my RL friends through it too, as I got them Switch Lites and copies of the game. It gave us something we could control; a place where we could have some sense of order amidst the chaos. I haven't been playing as much these past couple of months as Hades and #4 have been sucking up my time, but even my 5 year old plays occasionally. I set him up with a Southern Hemisphere island.
4. Final Fantasy XIV (PC, Mac, PS4, PS5) - I played for a bit when 2.0 launched, sure, but 7 years and 3 expansions later, it's practically a new game to me. This is the friendliest MMO I've ever played. The people are so chill. I know part of it has to do with Square-Enix banning DPS meters and stuff like that, so there's less pressure. I also found a cool Free Company (guild) where we understand that RL takes priority.
Too Long; didn't finish:
FFVII:Remake (PS4)
Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Nintendo Switch)
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)
Summer in Mara (Switch)
Ah crap, I'm usually really good about creating a list and sticking to it, but I completely forgot to add in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim! So, that changes up the order of the list a bit.
THE NEW LIST!
1. Yakuza Like A Dragon
2. Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. Hades
4. Ghost of Tsushima
5. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
6. Hardspace: Shipbreaker
7. Deep Rock Galactic
8. Bugsnax
9. Maneater
10. Among Us
THE BLURBS!
(spoilered to save on post length and this is only a blurb for 13 Sentinels. The rest of the blurbs can be found here)
5. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
--------------------------------------------13 Sentinels is part visual novel, part tower defense, all wrapped up in a wild rollercoaster of a story. This game starts off as your typical anime-style high school kids piloting mechs to save humanity, but as more of the story is revealed you realize there is much more going on than that. Unfortunately, most of the reason why I enjoyed this game was discovering the mystery so I really can't get more detailed than that. I'm still not entirely sure I understand all of it right now, but it is engaging enough that I'm not completely lost.
What I found most interesting about this game is that the story progression is completely up to you. The game has three separate sections; a tower defense (Destruction), an interactive visual novel portion (Remembrance), and data log entries (Analysis). You can do any part of any section at any time you want. There are some hard stopping points that require you to reach a certain point of progress in one of the sections, but other than that you are left on your own how to proceed. You can jump right into Destruction few battles, then pop over to the Remembrance and follow a few characters storylines, then jump back into Destruction without missing a beat.
While the story can get a bit convoluted at times, I really think that Vanillaware created a pretty unique experience that everyone should check out.
Hey.
So 2020 was a whole thing, huh? I spent 8 months of it as a gamer sans job. I do not recommend doing this.
On the plus side, I finished 20 games. 20! That's a lot! So thanks 2020, diaf.
1. DQ 11 PS4
- This game is a treasure
2. Ghost of Tsushima w\ Legends mode PS4/5
- Best traditional AC game but the free addition of Legends mode makes it incredible. Hey ThinJ, remember yesterday when I told you I have the legendary kunai? Still do. I have them. You do not (but it would be nice if you did because you carry us).
3. Witcher 3 Xbox
- I blame Netflix but this game is great. CDPR can f*ck off forever, but this game was great.
4. Spider-Man: Miles Morales PS5
- The perfect serving of gameplay. 12 hours long? I think the story could have been better but $40 for 12 hours of spider-game play was absolutely perfect.
5. Hades PC
- This game is incredible
6. FF7R PS4
- I can't believe they nailed it.
7. Slay the Spire PC
- I'm like 400 runs into an infinity game
8. Xenoblade Chronicles DE Switch
- Lot of JRPGs on here. I had time on my hands
9. FF13 PC
- The combat was wearing on me by the end but this was great.
10. Animal Crossing: NH Switch
-The right game at the right time. I can never go back because seeing which villagers have abandoned me will be too hard.
Game that should have been on the list but I was do disgusted with police violence I couldn't stand to play it any more: CoD Warzone. THIS GAME IS SO GOOD.
Unranked but enjoyed:
Maneater PC
Astro's Playroom PS5
Tony Hawk 1&2 PC
Monster Train PC
Pillars of Eternity PC
Granblue Fantasy VS PS4
CK3 PC
FF13-2 PC
1- Assassin's creed origins - PS4 - the new style of AC is really refreshing and set in a really interesting period of history
2- Superhot VR - PSVR - Superhot was good, Superhot VR makes you feel like you are Neo (just a good job you can't see yourself)
3- Carrion - XB - surprised me that this ended up so high, but still think about it occasionally, just really good fun playing as the monster and eating everyone
4 - Gears tactics - PC - Really good turn based tactics game, better than I thought it would be
5 - Battletech - PC - turn based strategy game where you control a group of giant mechs. Also have to manage the repairs and refitting after arms get blown off etc. Really interesting game.
6 - Control - PS4 - Deserving of all the praise it got, very clever mechanics and different to anything I've played before, plus amazing sequence near the end
7 - Northgard - NS - really good RTS game on switch, well suited to the console
8 - Gears 5 - XB - always enjoy playing though these co-op
9 - Hearts of iron 4 - PC - This would probably be higher if I had more time to give to it. Managed to force France and Poland to surrender by 1940 on third play through as Germany (then got annihilated by the rest of the allies a few years later)
10 - Disco Elysium - Really enjoying this so far. Fascinating characters and refreshingly different
Thanks again, Eleima, for doing this!
Here's my list:
1. Red Dead Redemption 2
2. My Brother Rabbit (*)
3. Carrion
4. Among Us
5. Animal Crossing
6. Children of Morta
7. Wasteland 3
8. God of War
9. Nier Automata
10 Missed Messages
(*) This one I want to explain: our youngest daughter had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2013 when she was just 1.5 years old. Fortunately she can be considered as healed now thanks to a bone marrow donation from her older sister. She doesn't remember much from the time but as she's getting older she talks about it more and more. I bought MBR on a Switch sale for $1 just because I liked the graphics and she had a sick day away from school. We played together and I soon discovered this hidden object game with mild puzzles comes with a story about a little girl that gets very sick. Her parents are very worried and have to take her to the hospital. Her older brother wants to help her, but of course he can't. That's why he creates this fantasy for him and her where he helps her fight against the illness. It's a game about how a family copes with a life threatning illness, a game about how a sibling copes with this situation.
Wow, it pushed all the buttons and my daughter was absolutely fascinated by the story and the way it is told. I sat next to her through the whole game and help a bit with the puzzles. We talked a lot about the story and it helped her to find a language to talk about her feelings about this probably nebulous past of her.
After playing I thanked the creators on Twitter for making this game.
I haven't posted a ton here lately, but I do love me some Game of the Year voting! Thanks Eleima!
Favorites
1. Hades
The action was fluid, the boons kept the gameplay varied in different runs, the characters and story were very entertaining. After many many runs, it did start to lose some of the excitement in the game play, but I was still engaged and wanted to see the story to the end.
2. Control
The bizarreness of the setting was great and the action very good. I think it was one of the few games I wasn’t itching for it to end.
3. The Last of Us Part 2
I’m still not done with this and maybe have a soft spot for the series because of the first game. It didn’t pull me in nearly as much as the first, but it’s still good. It feels like maybe there is too much combat. TLoU series always made me feel like I was in a zombie apocalypse scrounging for precious resources. Usually I get bored doing that in games but something about these games makes it engaging.
4. Immortals: Fenyx Rising
The exploration is so much better than the AC games. The puzzles are well done, requiring some observation, exploration, thinking - generally not that taxing but there have been some that stumped me for a while. The story and banter is amusing and adds to the game. The combat is nothing great and enemies are very repetitive. I’m kinda torn where to rank this one because the high points are quite high, but some repetition is starting to set in. I think I’m over halfway done and my Ubi+ subscription ran out, so I'll finish it some other time.
5. A Plague Tale: Innocence
I didn’t think I was going to like this nearly as much as I did. The game play was kinda simplistic, but damn the environments were great, the story interesting and the voice actors, especially the main girl really sold it for me.
6. Superhot: Mind Control Delete
More Super Hot so it had to be good. While not as novel as playing the first game, nothing else feels like it. Dragged a bit towards the end.
7. Phoenix Point
I love the actual battle system more than the new XCOMs, mixing movement and action in any order. It feels much more natural and flexible. I like how equipment and inventory has weight and can affect movement. The way exploration works is cool too, finding havens, resources, the creeping fog.
8. Wasteland 3
The combat was perfectly fine, but the real draw for me was the way many of the choices were tough decisions and really weighed on me when trying to decide what to do. Some truly humorous, creative stuff in there too.
9. Gears Tactics
I’m not familiar with the Gears universe, but I kinda liked the over the top summer movie vibe. The combat was solid and I liked the flexibility of moving and attacking in the order I wanted. Pulling off abilities to keep the actions coming was super satisfying too.
10. Baba is You
Some of these puzzles got damn hard and I didn’t finish, but what a clever way to make puzzles.
Very Good
The Colonists: There was something mesmerizing about fixing efficiency problems as I went through the campaign. Never did the combat missions though.
XCOM: Chimera Squad: Entertaining, but missing something special with the predefined characters. Breeches were fun in theory, but seemed kinda arbitrary. Still, the battles and upgrading the characters was fun.
Monster Train: Not nearly as addicting as Slay the Spire, but having the different floors was a nice twist to shake things up.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps: Still beautiful and action still good, just wasn’t as magical as the first.
DOOM Eternal: I loved DOOM 2016 and this one is still very good, but I think this one raises the chaos level a bit too much and has too many things for me to remember. It looks great, sounds great and performs great though.
Railroad Corporation: Don’t remember why I liked it as much as I did. I think it had the most frictionless track building and just felt right.
Hob: I’m still fairly early on, but it seems to capture some decent exploration and puzzling.
The Turing Test: Pretty good. Most puzzles not too difficult. Interesting conversations between AI and character.
Good
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: Without the beautiful environments I wouldn’t like the AC games nearly as much. I’m not a good judge of writing, but for me it ranged from engaging to skippable. I hate the icon chase and wish they designed their games to have more natural exploration and / or encorporating clues. The combat is fine, but gets very repetitive.
Dirt Rally 2: I didn’t play as much as the first, but it still seemed quality.
Faeria: Simple, fun, boardgamey deck game.
Fantasy General 2 General Edition: What it does it did right - exploring the map, fighting battles, finding loot, leveling units, until there was just too much of it. Maps got too big and the unit count too large.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Nice fluid action. Didn’t care for the art or story.
Eador. Imperium: Kind of a rough gem that can entertain but also frustrate with technical issues.
Transport Fever 2: Another good train game that didn’t quit feel as good as Railroad Corporation. A little for finicky and had some terrible objectives in the campaign.
Horizon Chase Turbo: Fun, fast arcade racing.
Yoku’s Island Express!: Mixed feelings. It was attractive, novel little pinball mini games inside a platformer, but the running around got too tiresome. Maybe because I was too inefficient in my traveling / solving areas, but it started to drag.
Dishonored Death of the Outsider: While a fine Dishonored game, I think I just started tiring of the formula.
One Deck Dungeon: Fun, simple game with dice. Good for passing some time without needing to invest a lot.
Dicey Dungeons : Another fun simple game to fit into a smaller play session or eating lunch.
Tametsi : Just another fun Hexcells type game.
Thanks for getting us back on track Rob. There were 2 lists in a row without Hades. 
Thanks for getting us back on track Rob. There were 2 lists in a row without Hades. :shock:
Yeah, I'm waiting for a longer streak of Hades nonimations so I can post my combo breaker. 
Stele wrote:Thanks for getting us back on track Rob. There were 2 lists in a row without Hades. :shock:
Yeah, I'm waiting for a longer streak of Hades nonimations so I can post my combo breaker. :P
Did you play it and not like it, or just not play it? If the latter, there is still time 
Mantid wrote:Stele wrote:Thanks for getting us back on track Rob. There were 2 lists in a row without Hades. :shock:
Yeah, I'm waiting for a longer streak of Hades nonimations so I can post my combo breaker. :P
Did you play it and not like it, or just not play it? If the latter, there is still time :-)
I'm wondering why so many people got it this year. I played it 2 years ago, and it's the same game for the most part.
robc wrote:Mantid wrote:Stele wrote:Thanks for getting us back on track Rob. There were 2 lists in a row without Hades. :shock:
Yeah, I'm waiting for a longer streak of Hades nonimations so I can post my combo breaker. :P
Did you play it and not like it, or just not play it? If the latter, there is still time :-)
I'm wondering why so many people got it this year. I played it 2 years ago, and it's the same game for the most part.
It came out on Switch this year.
That would probably be it then. I guess I can't call shenanigans.
That would probably be it then. I guess I can't call shenanigans.
You really can't. 2018 was Early Access. You can claim hipster cred for playing it before it was mainstream though!
It's official launch on all platforms was this year, actually, so you get even stronger hipster cred if you played/listed in in previous years.
That said, my understanding is that if you only played it two years ago, you're actually missing a lot. The surface layer experience of the first environment or two might be mostly the same as it was in the initial early access launch phase, but sooo much has been added since then (heck, the third environment didn't even exist until May 2019, and the fourth until August 2019).
Phew! I'm all caught up. Thank you to Hrdina, carrotpanic, ComfortZone, McIrish, Tycho the Mad, kazooka, kergguz, halfwaywrong, Thowky, bobbywatson, sometimesdee, CptDomano, oilypenguin, Fragnog, Marchantia and robc for your lists and to pandasuit for your edit.
Everything's compiled, so that makes 55 lists for 261 games!!
EverythingsTentative wrote:That would probably be it then. I guess I can't call shenanigans.
No shenanigans regardless, since it all hinges on when you first started playing it yourself, but the game was officially released 1.0 this year. I bought it a while back, but deliberately waited until it was out of early access.
Just to confirm, SometimesDee, those "too long, didn't finish" aren't part of your top ten, right?
Marchantia, thank you for sharing. I'm glad she's doing okay now.You really can't. 2018 was Early Access. You can claim hipster cred for playing it before it was mainstream though!
Right, only 8 days left in December. Keep those lists coming!!
...and I really need to get a move on with mine! Hopefully this weekend.
robc wrote:Mantid wrote:Stele wrote:Thanks for getting us back on track Rob. There were 2 lists in a row without Hades. :shock:
Yeah, I'm waiting for a longer streak of Hades nonimations so I can post my combo breaker. :P
Did you play it and not like it, or just not play it? If the latter, there is still time :-)
I'm wondering why so many people got it this year. I played it 2 years ago, and it's the same game for the most part.
It had been on my “play eventually” list since it first came out but I’m terrible at getting to that stuff because Rocket League.
This year a friend really pushed me to try it and it just happened to be on sale on Epic at the time. With a it coupon cost so little it was a no brainer to buy. Glad I did. I still haven’t played it nearly enough and haven’t “passed” it but it is one of the best roguelikes I’ve played in a while and I totally intend to sink more time into it except, you know, Rocket League.
10. Jedi Fallen Order - PC
Fun lightsaber fights and acceptable exploration, what's not to like?
9. Assassin's Creed Valhalla - PC
After the paralyzing scope and endless repetition of Odyssey, I welcomed the more guided experience of Valhalla. It's weirdly incompetent when it comes to stealth, open combat is workmanlike but enjoyable, and the Path of Exile-inspired skill web is inoffensive. It's a completely safe AAA execution of an established genre, and that worked well for me this year.
Valhalla was like the old pseudo-girlfriend you call up while mildly drunk, and she happily comes by for an evening without commitments. Entertaining and undemanding. I'm sure I'll never finish it, but I saw enough, and had a good time.
8. Control - PC
Enough has been said about this one. A great mood combined with mildly competent shooting mechanics and some physics powery stuff.
7. Walkabout Mini Golf - Oculus Quest
My company is geographically diverse, and normally does multiple yearly summits where everyone flies to a shared location. As Covid prevented this occurring, we instead bought Oculus Quest 2 headsets for everyone, with the intent of doing meetings in VR to try to simulate being together in a shared space. The VR presentation stuff wound up not happening due to several folks developing headaches when trying to focus on text, but our post-meeting gaming sessions went spectacularly well.
I always thought VR would be about getting a proper, high-fidelity, powered-by-powerful-PC experience in a room-sized open space. Since I didn't have those things, I didn't buy into it. Forced to try this little phone processor VR unit for work, I was absolutely blown away by how much playing a low-poly game of golf with identical floating heads and disembodied putters emulated the experience of physically getting together for beer drinking and grabassin'. It's a perfect Coronavirus activity, and I've bought a couple units as Christmas gifts for local friends that I never get to see any more.
This sounds like a review of the device rather than this particular game, but there's something about miniature golf that is just perfect for talking trash, trying to mess with someone lining up a putt with some mild antics, and general bullshitting with pals during a shared activity which doesn't require much in the way of focus. This game does an excellent job of getting out of your way so you can freely socialize.
6. Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale - Oculus Quest
So, Overcooked was great. Except. You know the except. After about the third stage you were doing all this crazy shit like trying to jump between moving trucks or glide across floating ice floes to get to the cooking station, when what you really wanted to be doing was yelling at someone to bring you a clean dish. Because that was the fun part. Yelling at people for being bad at coordination.
Cook-Out doesn't make this mistake. You stand still and make sandwiches of increasing complexity. That's it. You can lean over and reach your buddy's ingredients if they're being too slow to chop lettuce, and you can throw a cleaver at their head after you chop it for them. Far and away my favorite VR experience.
5. Ghost of Tsushima - PS4
I care as little about graphics in games as it is possible for a non-blind person to care. In my life, there have been four "bro..." moments with regards to game visuals, when I was bowled over sheerly by how a game looked. Number 1 was Myst, which if you were alive and playing games during that time I don't need to explain. Number 2 was GLQuake, same description applies. Number 3 was Red Dead Redemption 2, where the fidelity was so incredible that I was compelled to explore the world as soon as humanly possible, just so I could see every type of terrain they modeled, and be floored by it. In all of those cases, I eventually "got over" how impressive it was, and it faded to the background.
Ghost of Tsushima, which you have cleverly reckoned is the holder of spot number 4, is the only game where I never "got over" how amazing it looked. It's just bonkers good from the jump, and it never stops being bonkers good. Why fast travel when you can ride through seas of waving grass? You are in a goddamn Kurosawa movie, except it's better!
The combat is fun and fluid, certainly less demanding than Soulsies but not a button masher. Nifty gadgets, straightforward upgrades to chase, acceptable stealth, and the whole package just oozes style.
4. The Last of Us 2 - PS4
A great execution of the same formula. They made one critical misstep, in that they bizarrely sequenced two segments in the wrong order, causing me to have no emotional investment in some of the characters. It also overstayed its welcome by a couple hours, which surprised me, as the first TLOU was the game I was most unhappy to ever see end. Nonetheless, a top notch game and a worthy sequel.
3. Desperados 3 - PC
Shadow Tactics was great, and this release perfected the model. They cleaned up the simultaneous action mode, added an on-demand speedup, and fixed some minor camera niggles. Then they layered on a bunch of reasons to revisit old missions. If you enjoyed Commandos or any other realtime tactics quickloader, this is the pinnacle of the genre and a must-purchase.
2. Monster Train - PC
An amazing deck builder from out of nowhere. Much as I enjoyed Slay the Spire, eventually there was just too much thinking, too much "well if I do this and then that, that'll roll over this artifact counter, which will let me do this other thing, which will roll over this other artifact counter, which will blahblah." You have that level of thinking maybe twice in an entire session of Monster Train, but it retains the chewy goodness of building a proper engine. The core satisfaction of getting a tight loop going is still very much present, and I enjoy the "pick 2" system over the single deck. It's very relaxing to just roll a random Covenant 1 run and autopilot through a game after the kids are asleep, usually with a movie I've seen a dozen times up on the other screen.
1. Hades - PC
No surprise that this takes the top spot. Not since PUBG has a new game come along and so completely blown away everything else that came out that year. Great mechanics, great storytelling method, phenomenal voice acting, and a clever system to push you to keep edging the difficulty up. Absolutely a 10/10 experience throughout, and miraculously doesn't feel stale after you've hit the end of meaningful unlocks.
Just to confirm, SometimesDee, those "too long, didn't finish" aren't part of your top ten, right?
Oh, of course not! They weren't even numbered because they're not part of my top anything. Sorry for not making that clearer. Those are the games that I didn't play enough of to properly rank.
It's official launch on all platforms was this year, actually, so you get even stronger hipster cred if you played/listed in in previous years.
That said, my understanding is that if you only played it two years ago, you're actually missing a lot. The surface layer experience of the first environment or two might be mostly the same as it was in the initial early access launch phase, but sooo much has been added since then (heck, the third environment didn't even exist until May 2019, and the fourth until August 2019).
Yeah thousands of extra lines of dialog they recorded just because they could. And so many conversations built from run to run depending on what happened. The game feels lived in. Just an amazing experience.
An insane year where we spent entirely too many days in the hospital, but I still found time to experience some great games. All were on Xbox with the exception of FFXIV and Spider Man which were PS4.
10. Journey to the Savage Planet
09. Control
08. Borderlands 3
07. Monster Train
06. The Outer Worlds
05. Red Dead Redemption 2
04. Final Fantasy XIV Online
03. Destiny 2: Beyond Light
02. Marvel's-Spider Man: GOTY
01. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Much has been said about all of these at this point, because my primary way to game has been Game Pass all year, which I've been really happy with in general (especially given the limited/odd gaming time I had).
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a treasure. Even better gameplay than the first one, a story that left me emotional, incredible graphics, sound and music, and a lot of flexibility with abilities/builds. One of the best (maybe The Best?) metroidvania's I've ever played, and I love the genre.
Spider-Man blew me away. I blazed right through the main game and all the DLCs that came with it. Taking some time off before Miles Morales to allow it to fade some before re-living the gameplay.
Though I enjoyed last year's GWJ GOTY Control, I was lower on it than most others. The story was great, love Remedy's narrative as usual, but the gameplay got very tedious for me around the time I found
my brother Dylan.
I had to set the game down and have yet to finish it.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light was my biggest pleasant surprise...I've been done with the game for a long time after a long line of annoyances from Bungie, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign this time around and they made the grind fun with this one, which is a feat.
The ones that got away (on my list to play in the future):
Hades
Persona 5 Royal
The Last of Us Part II
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
FFVII Remake
2021 Anticipation
Finally cracking the shrink wrap on this PS5 - once our family life stops spinning so fast. A successful transplant outcome for the boy is all any of us really (Really, REALLY) want right now.
A console port of Hades - I'm pretty sure it'd have been my GOTY based on what I've seen and heard. It's right up my alley
God of War: Ragnarok
Overwatch 2 (maybe?)
Horizon: Forbidden West
Halo Infinite
Gotham Knights
Cyberpunk 2077 getting completed - I pre-ordered, and it's going to sit unopened for quite some time apparently. Talk about the biggest letdown in gaming, maybe ever?
1. Old World (PC)
Disco Elysium felt like a game made especially for me in 2019, Old World continues that streak in 2020. I've played every CIV game to death, and failed to get into the Crusader Kings series many times. This game marries CIV-style mechanics with those roleplaying elements Crusader Kings is so renowned for. As a bonus, Old World isn't hamstrung by CIV's history (and vocal fanbase) and shakes things up a bit. The design decision to pool all action points was genius, for instance. When I played the game it was still in early Early Access, and the core gameplay was not always integrated super well with the dynasty elements. I look forward to diving in the game again somewhere next year!
2. A Case of Distrust (PC)
I loved this film-noir themed point and click adventure game. Your 'inventory' consists of information you gather as a private detective from the environment or the characters. You then use that info to confront the characters to eke out more information.
It's a great little game (about 3 hours), and while it doesn't completely avoid the genre's pitfalls (a piece of info that should work but doesn't, or being stuck and cycling through all possible 'inventory' pieces), the moments where you feel like a smarty-pants for connecting the dots far outweigh these minor nuisances.
Plus, it's a neat little story that doesn't shy away from tackling issues of sexism (you play an ex-cop female P.I.) or racism.
3. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (PC)
I only ever played 1 and 2 back in the day, so I get to pick this for my top-10! I've been playing this with my daughters, where I construct the park while they suggest improvements, names for the horses and/or repair staff, and where plants should go. They love to see the little people go and try the ride cam. I had hoped to teach the girls to play themselves, but the interface is also very much of the year 2000.
4. Spiritfarer (Switch)
A fantastic game, atmospheric, touching, warm, and the most zen gaming experience of 2020. But also about twice as long as it needed to be, and especially the later spirits didn't gel with me as much. I loathe to say that, as the spirits you help pass to the netherworld are all based on people the developers knew in real life, by which I mean I can't fault them for... well not killing their darlings.
5. FM 2020 (PC)
OK, Maybe THIS is my ZEN game of 2020. It takes me about 50 hours to get through one season, and I cannot not turn each and every knob a little bit if it optimizes the team 0.17%. Which is frustrating until I just let go and enjoy the uh zennity of it all. And it's still such an amazing achievement of a game.
6. Eliza (PC)
(I wrote this 9 months ago in the Finished Game Thread, and it's still as relevant today.) As I'm currently assessing my professional life and where to go (or stay), I mainly looked to the game through that lens. And it actually gave me... hope? Not that the game isn't very intense or dark at times, but in the end I felt that even in this just-before-dystopian capitalist system there might be ways to maintain a sense of self and still stay a functional member of society. Or not. 
7. Children of Morta
You can mark "I'm usually not into rogue-lites, but..." off your GOTY bingo card for today! I love how Children of Morta combines warm family vibes with the cutthroat gameplay of a rogue lite. The variation between the different characters, with their different skillsets is pretty neat too. I didn't finish the game, nor play it for a gazillion hours, but it's nice to get back to once in a while.
8. PES 2021 (PS4)
I cannot not put this somewhere in the top-10, because for all its flaws PES is still the greatest soccer sim experience out there by FAR. Unfortunately the entire game outside of the match engine is trash, and the grindey exploitative MyClub (counterpart to FIFA's FUT) turned me off the game entirely.
9. Inside (PC)
This 3 hour game or so took me two weeks to finish. The dystopian horror theme is too much to bear in one go, and I'm usually not a big fan of puzzle games either. That I still finished the game says enough about its quality and great design. Highly recommended if your tastes are more on the artsy fartsy side.
10. Tropico 6 (PC)
No no no, THIS is my zen game of 2020! Plus it takes me back to a time where we were confident enough of our own democracies to haughtily satire and mock those banana republics that could totally not happen here *nervous laughter & shifty eyes*
1. Old World (PC)
Nice to see this on a list. Haven't tried it, since I dislike early access, but looking forward to it quite a bit.
Between this and Humanity, 2021 could be shaping up to be a good year for Civilization style games.
I think I skipped this thread the last two years because my kid kept me from really finishing enough games to make a meaningful list. This year I have some though!
1. Control
2. Final Fantasy VII Remake
3. Hades
4. Jedi Fallen Order
5. Horizon: Zero Dawn
6. Dragon Quest XI
7. Asphalt 9: Legends
8. NBA 2k20
9. Pokemon Sword
10. Links’s Awakening remake
I didn't finish any game on my list. I ALREADY HAVE A JOB!
Thanks Eleima for this thread!!!!!
Very different year, but not for us that play VideoGames, this had a lot of great and surprise games to choose from for every type of gamer....
This is my list:
1.- HADES (PC), on track to be the most mentioned game on this thread.
2.- CONTROL (PC), nothing more to say that it hasnt been mentioned before, great gameplay, even on medium specs PC with only a 1050 Ti. Also on GamePass right now.
3.- ORI AND THE BLIND FOREST(XBOX-GamePass), beautiful game, story, gameplay, much better then the 1st.
4.- CARRION(XBOX-GamePass), got throught it in 4 days, very original gameplay being the monster.
5.- MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR(PC-GamePass), I need a new PC and grfx card, this could be my number 1 if I had the PC.
6.- STAR RENEGADES(PC-GamePass), simple RPG, great pixel graphics, great systems, and still need to play more of this. Try it if you have GamePass.
7.- A SHORT HIKE(PC), got it free through epic game store, and got through it on the same day. Got hooked on its simplicity and story of the character.
8.- GENSHIN IMPACT(PC), first gatcha game played ever, never needed to spend a peso on it, had great fun through the story, characters, events, there is always something FUN to do in this massive ala BOTW world.
9.- UNDERMINE(PC-GamePass), great roguelite with sustainable progress in each run, very fun gameplay.
10.- FALL GUYS(PC), lots of laughs with the family around passing the controller.
Honorable mentions: SW Jedi Fallen Order(XBOX-GamePass), AC Odyssey(PC), Deep Rock Galactic(XBOX-GamePass), Minecraft Dungeons(XBOX-GamePass), Divinity OS 2(PC), Gears Tactics(XBOX-GamePass).
Thanks again Eleima for all this work for all of us to enjoy!!!!!.
Happy Holidays if you celebrate!!!
Many thanks to Mr Crinkle, WizardM0de, dejanzie, Blind_Evil and Sonrics for your lists, your votes have been tallied! And thank you SometimesDee for the clarification. That's what I thought, but I'd rather double check that leave games out by mistake!
Super happy to see A Short Hike show up on a couple of lists, that game was such a delight, I think I remember mentioning it last year in my honorable mentions. I hope you are well and staying safe, but most of all... Keep those lists coming, I look forward to each and every one! 
I didn't finish any game on my list. I ALREADY HAVE A JOB!
Well, that's okay, finishing a game isn't a prerequisite. 
Like I said in the OP. Sometimes, you've only played an hour and you already know that game is special.
dejanzie wrote:1. Old World (PC)
Nice to see this on a list. Haven't tried it, since I dislike early access, but looking forward to it quite a bit.
Between this and Humanity, 2021 could be shaping up to be a good year for Civilization style games.
Agreed. This was on my radar for a while, but I forgot it came out. Good to be reminded of it and know that it's actually quite good!
It's been a wild year for great games.
1. Hades
2. Heaven's Vault
3. Blaseball
4. Empire of Sin
5. Crusader Kings 3
6. Mindustry
7. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
8. Atelier Ayesha
9. Touhou Luna Nights
10. Noita
Honorable Mentions:
Airborne Kingdom
Civilization 6
Fortune-499
Ikenfell
In Other Waters
Kenshi
Kentucky Route Zero
Minit
Silk
Watch Dogs: Legion
XCOM Chimera Squad
I also spent a lot of time playing modded Skyrim, but that doesn't count on multiple levels.
Thanks Eleima for all the work you put into this thread!
Laying in bed on a weird, melancholy Christmas Day seems the perfect summation of 2020, so OF COURSE today is the day for the list!!! Let’s do it!
2020 Game of the Year
1. Hades (Switch)
I had heard pretty good things when this came out as an Epic Store ‘sclusy, but once it hit 1.0 this year? WOW! Is this the same game people have been playing over the past 2 years? (This exact comment was well debated earlier in the thread!) The many many MANY hours I could’ve been playing Hades instead of, I dunno, LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE!!
Hades is one of those rare games that is great in every single way. Every aspect of this game just had me hooked from the first run well into my fiftieth! I’m proud that run fifteen was my first clear! The music is fantabulous!!! I love the story and characters so very much! Dusa, Thanatos, Megaera...all the homeys are just so...excellent!
2. The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4)
A lot of my thoughts could be summed up by Higgeldy’s excellent post. But a couple of non-spoilery things to say- This game is one of the only games I’ve ever played that I feel I have to wrestle with over my feelings after the fact. After it’s all said and done, I still struggle with how I actually feel about this game and it varies from day to day. Maybe as we get even further out from this game, the heart will grow fond. But for now, this is where I’m placing it. But for all the flaws and conflicting emotions, it has stayed with me. And those facts set it apart from all other games. It dragged at times. It felt too long at other times. But it stuck with me.
3. Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
The story was quick and impactful and just a ton of fun. Get in, get out. Cry. I will treasure the brief time I had with Miles and the gang. So dang good! Makes me think Marvel’s Spider-Man could’ve been half as long and that might’ve made it a tighter/better experience, in my opinion.
4. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (PS5)
This game is good, dirty fun. The kind of game to sink into on holiday break with a new console and appreciate capital V capital G Video Games. It isn’t going to make my mind reel from the impact of the story. And the combat can feel sluggish and button mashy. But, ooooooo baby! does it look purty and it’s fun to climb up the craggy hills and find little goodies and make the numbers go up and check things off a list! Skal!
5. Astro’s Playroom (PS5)
Shout out to Astro’s Playroom! Was such a cute little pack in to get ya ready for the PS5! I can’t believe this game was a free pack in! Play this before anything else on PS5!
6. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (PS4)
I haven’t played a Tony Hawk game in sooooo long! And this was a fun fling for a couple of weeks to get back into that kind of arcadey fun!
7. SUPERHOT VR (Oculus Quest Native)
SUPER
HOT
My favorite VR game from that brief lockdown time frame. John Wick Matrix Ninja Assassin. That’s the best word cloud I can sum this game up with.
8. Half-Life: Alyx (Oculus Quest via Link Cable)
I *wish* I could play this game more! The initial March-June lockdown were my VR months. And I found out that VR horror is toooooo much for me! I stopped before “Jeff” and it was already too claustrophobic, too overbearing for me to play for more than a half hour or so at a time. But I would LOVE a game that is mostly just Gravity Glove-ing objects to me for hours on end!
9. Among Us (PC)
Just a quick shout out to the games like Among Us that filled that social role in this year where I didn’t hang with people in Meat Space. Among Us is the new one, but D&D/Blades in the Dark and old Jack Box Party Packs helped make this year a little easier to deal with. Hang out multiplayer games were a huuugeeeee part of my year
10. Robo Recall (Oculus Quest via Link Cable)
And last (and I guess least, in this case) is a VR game that was mindless and dumb fun! This is the kind of ripping and tearing one needs to get through a once in a century lockdown!
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