With a global pandemic dominating much of 2020, most of us have had to stay indoors for a long time. Time enough to sit back and binge on some video games.
Naturally, as I've found ample amounts of time to watch films and such, I also took the chance to dig through my library and play games new and old. In the drollest parts of the year, new games offered a refreshing and much-needed avenue of escapism. It was especially timely that the epic new chapter of Doom came out the very same week I had to quarantine at home--as you can guess, I spent much of that week enthralled in its eye-popping, fast-paced combat. Not sure if it'll be remembered in another year, but this was also the week Animal Crossing dropped, so there were quite a few amusing memes suggesting a crossover.
Hype peaked again when The Last Of Us Part II released. I never would have predicted the crud-storm that would follow, with half the fans praising the game and the other half decrying it as an abomination. It's probably the most vicious schism of opinion since Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It's a shame though--the game looks beautiful, it has a heck of a story to tell with pointed themes, but I won't deny that the character arcs are unbecoming. Who knows what kind of fallout will come out of this.
Of all the most-hyped games, Cyberpunk 2077 seemed to disappoint fans the most--at least for console players. The thing looks perfect on a PC, but given the countless issues on the PS4 and Xbox, its launch seemed tainted. Which is a shame, since this was in the works for nine years. I gotta say though, even with long load times and glitches, I love the game all the same.
Few other highlights were pleasant surprises--Ghost of Tsushima being one of the biggest, with its beautiful open world and empowering combat. Snowrunner turned out to be engrossing in its own way. I have no complaints over Dreams, Civlization VI, or Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Most other games haven't been great necessarily, but I must admit that I enjoyed the heck out of Watch Dogs: Legion, Terminator: Resistance, Maneater, and Stranded Deep.
Within the last quarter of the year, a new generation of consoles launched. With higher resolution and frame rates, and more speed, I've been tempted to make the jump to a PlayStation 5. Given that there are only a few new PS5 games on the market, I decided to wait a while--it's not like you can find any of these in stock anywhere anyway. In another year, when more games are out and the bugs are worked out, maybe I'll reconsider. It's hard to get excited over the next generation at the moment when the PS4 and my PC gives me all the gaming power I need (although faster load times are certainly welcome). I definitely have no shortage of PS4 games to go through, so what's the hurry?
Gamers everywhere have plenty to gripe about (buggy launches, video game prices, everything involving The Last Of Us Part II). Regarding the games themselves though, I've been quite satisfied with the titles I've played this year. There have been some phenomenal experiences I treasure, and may continue to treasure in the coming years. Video games might actually be one good thing to come out of 2020.
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AL'S TOP 2020 GAMES
15: Stranded Deep
Clunky, glitchy, and unwieldy, Stranded Deep lacks the sophistication to deliver its promise on an open-world desert-island survival experience. That being said, I still liked the stupid thing. Time generally flies by when I mind-numbingly (but relaxingly) harvest resources and craft things. I'm sure it's more because of the endorphins in my brain, so the game does a fair job of making me feel rewarded. Could chalk this up as a guilty pleasure, but the requirement to slay sea monsters kills this experience for me.
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14: Demon's Tilt
A straightforward pinball game with a lot of pretty neon colors and explosions of sprites. With only one big board, it's short and simple. I do enjoy it for a quick session--I am ultimately enamored by the game's graphic style and music. Can't say I found the modes easy, but it can feel rather empowering when the ball plows through monsters and everything lights up vividly.
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13: Maneater
This is a game where you play a shark. A little messed-up considering that you have to eat people to progress, but I found the game addicting thanks to its open-world design filled generously with challenges and collectables. Even though the levelling system is empowering, the combat is limited and can lead to a few frustrations.
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12: Terminator: Resistance
Good Terminator games are few and far between, unfortunately. Thankfully, Resistance is one of the better ones, with a good amount of polish and plenty of love put into the design and story. It matches up with the original two movies well and tells its own original story, making this a good experience for fans. It's not particularly long or innovative. The potential is there for an open-world RPG game, but the game falls short. It does make me wish they could make a Terminator game in the scope of Fallout, but for a few bucks, this isn't too shabby.
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11: Watch Dogs: Legion
Despite my enjoyment of the Watch Dogs franchise, I didn't expect much out of the third entry. It offers a unique mechanism that allows you to pick anybody off the street as a playable character, but this is both a blessing and a curse. As endless as the possibilities seem, there are only so-many skills you can harness from the populace (and they didn't have that many voice-actors for them all). Worst of all, the game loses its subjectivity since there's no main character to leverage a story on. The story remains interesting only through the detailed worldbuidling, and holy cow, the map of near-future London is pretty awesome. I love the way it's designed, and there was always something to do. Shame the map doesn't allow you to filter much. I had fun playing this game, but despite a plethora of interesting ideas and premises, it comes off as a little forgettable. Glitches ultimately killed my enjoyment too often to push this further up my list (yes, even moreso than Cyberpunk 2077).
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10: Post Void
I stumbled across this watching gameplay footage on Youtube and figured why not? It's a hyper shooter you can play in short bursts, with the levels lasting for only moments. It's a bizarre mechanism that demands constant attention and sharp skill. Garish color schemes, rough sprites, and creepy creature designs makes this a visual standout. If you have a few minutes to spare, this is a compelling challenge for shooter fans.
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9: Snowrunner
Sometimes it's rewarding to complete something as simple as making a delivery, especially after trudging through the elements. I haven't played any other games of this type, but I found Snowrunner pleasant in its quality and format. The open world begs for exploration, but the challenges it offers are compelling and much more difficult than they appear. One could spend hours getting lost in the snow and mud across the sizable, detailed maps.
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8: Cloudpunk
Oh cool, I get to fly a little car through a Blade Runner style city. That, and the simple focus on making deliveries, is rewarding enough for me. Can't say I like the Minecraft-style method of making everything blocky and cubic, but the game's ambience (to include its synth-heavy score) is nice. I kinda like the main character and how depth is revealed as the game goes on. It's a little early for me to tell how this game plays all the way through, but I like what I see so far.
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7: Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
The latest Assassin's Creed game is on-par with the last few. It's still quite an enjoyable romp to scour a map of ancient historic settings, on foot or by ship, with a pet bird in one hand and an axe in the other. There's no shortage of quests, raids, and side activities. I had worried that the Norse setting would be trite for this series, but it turned out to be beautifully-rendered and quite badass. I haven't played enough of the game to judge its story or much more of its experience, but from what I see so far, it's one of the better entries of the series.
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6: Cyberpunk 2077
This comes so close to being my personal Game Of The Year. However, it is notorious for its launch issues on the consoles, and playing this on the PS4 I have to admit that the crashes and slow rendering are annoying. I haven't had nearly as many problems as others have, but even I can't ignore how crummy it runs sometimes.
That being said, I am completely enamored by the game's experience. Night City captures every cyberpunk trope imaginable--including Keanu Reeves himself. The story and character build mechanism echoes everything I've read out of William Gibson. In fact, the sheer number of references blows my mind pretty often. Despite all the tropes and stereotypes, it never comes off as trite thanks to how deep and detailed the world is, which is always a thrill to explore through the numerous side gigs. I can't deny that the experience suffers from some missed potential--choices you make amount to little (even with dialogue options), vendors in the city don't offer much of anything useful, and some skills seem outright useless (like the throwing knives--why the actual hell can't you pick them back up when using them?). Still, the first act had me at the edge of my seat, with reveals and twists I found jaw-dropping. There was some serious thought and passion put into the script, and it shines in its best moments--that, and the empowering experience of being a street samurai--is enough for me to love this game and forgive its flaws (many of which may become non-issues with patches, or on the PC).
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5: Civilization VI
Seems like more of the same as #5, but a little more pared-down. The experience is generally the same, and I find it immensely addicting to play turn-after-turn to build up an empire and explore the world. I experienced nothing that annoyed or disrupted the experience for me--I think it's a solid strategy game, plain and simple.
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4: Dreams
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| Yes, I made this nightmare. |
Dreams bears all the charm and quality of LittleBigPlanet, but with greater scope and greater ambition. As a creation tool, Dreams extends its capabilities beyond mere platforming and can allow for just about any 3D game you can think of (or an arty presentation if you wish). The creative tools are intuitive once learned, and surprisingly robust.
As far as the central gaming narrative, the campaign offers a heartfelt tale that flip-flops between fantasy and reality. The platforming sections offer fair challenges for gamers of all ages, while scenes in-between change up the gameplay style to satisfy those who desire something different. It comes off as a family-friendly experience that's maturely told, similar perhaps to a Pixar story (why does it remind me of Soul so much anyway?).
Ultimately, I value this the most for the game-creating tools, and the chance to explore a whole universe populated by other gamers' imaginations.
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3: Ghost Of Tsushima
I once fancied that Assassin's Creed should have a game set in feudal Japan--this original title, however, captures everything I'd want out of such a title, and goes even further than I'd expect. Inspired by the classic samurai pictures of Akira Kurosawa, the game offers a simple, efficient (and maybe too easy) combat system that feels empowering. The Japanese landscapes are beautifully rendered, and playing the part of a chivalrous samurai fighting oppression and saving the common people is an experience I find satisfying. I won't deny that the base story doesn't offer particularly deep characterization or plotting, but I admired the way this simple story is told and how it's cleanly embedded in the gameplay. Whether working to save the land of Tsushima or wandering aimlessly, I found it easy and fun to lose myself into the role of a lone samurai.
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2: Doom Eternal
Bigger. Bolder. Bloodier. The latest Doom title escalates the gameplay of the 2016 reboot in a way that invokes awe and terror--and if you can get a handle on the flow of combat, it will empower you as a formidable slayer and make you feel like a total badass.
In an effort to upset the balance of gameplay and keep gamers on their toes, developers made the unique decision to make you search for ammo constantly (easily obtained by chain-sawing lesser enemies, but easy to miss if you've already crushed them all) and by adding platforming to the levels. The interruption of shooting, especially with the platforming sections, has thrown off many frustrated gamers. Not me though--even though it took some getting used to, I found it rather easy after a few runs. With the epic-scale monsters and level design, this started to feel less like a Doom game and more like God of War--and I was cool with that.
The story's simple and there's not much to the characters, but hell, this is Doom. Depth was never a requisite. The experience of slaying monsters and saving the world is an empowering journey, beautifully-rendered and quickly-paced. There are compelling challenges, but the game remains laid-back thanks to its campy, over-the-top tone. I daresay I enjoy and remember this more fondly than its predecessor, and it comes very close to being my favorite game of the year.
Only one other game knocked my socks off even harder though, but you might not like it...
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1: The Last Of Us Part II
Let's get this out of the way first: I know this story is upsetting and fans are furious. One particular death scene is perhaps the ugliest scene I've seen in a game. The experience is even more unbecoming since you are forced to play the villain for a while, putting you in the odd position to fight one of the main characters you originally loved and rooted for. Some things in this script probably don't work as well as they should (that ending fight especially elicits more exasperation than catharsis).
However...
I know why the game does what it does. Instead of delivering us a straightforward zombie-killing game with Joel and Ellie again, it challenges the characters and underscores the flaws that make them less heroic than we want to believe. At the same time, it also rounds off characters we'd think as villainous, asking us to sympathize and understand them (except the Rattlers...seriously, eff those guys).
I'm personally floored by all of this--the moral ambiguity and focus on gritty, realistic characters, versus the cliched black-and-white us-vs-them mentality that all games (and society at large) subscribe to. This game has the guts to shift our perspective to understand all sides and illustrate how destructive rage and revenge is. I find the game's treatment of the story structure and timeline fascinating, as it relies on flashbacks and dialogue to drizzle information on us that we must piece together (including some fascinating details embedded in the levels themselves).
The actual meat of the game remains the same as before--the exploration and stealth combat is often rewarding as you crawl through the ruins of Seattle and stalk infected and human enemies (maybe a little odd that you have to kill so much in a story that preaches against killing). I am quite enamored by the level designs and the cold ambience they capture. It's all beautifully rendered, with a superb soundtrack and fantastic sound design.
I know why gamers are upset over this game, but the artistic intention is clear to me and I accept it for what it is. In another universe, this could have been written much worse, as a bland and generic rehash with nothing new to say. Part II of this story does have significant themes to explore and it finds ways to progress its characters. You won't like the game, but you're not supposed to. It's a bold and sobering storytelling experience that I find far more valuable than any other game I've experienced this year.
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AL'S NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
- Won the platinum trophies for The Last Of Us Part II, Subnautica, Death Stranding, Watch Dogs: Legion, Saints Row: The Third, Terminator: Resistance, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, Maneater, Goat Simulator, and Everything.
- Completed the DLCs for Control, achieved 100% of the trophies.
- Completed the main campaigns for Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Entwined, and Rage.
- Achieved 100% of all trophies for Bad North, Doom 64, and Aero Fighters 2.
- After spending so much time on the PS console, I successfully made time for more PC games. Most especially Civilization VI, Disco Elysium, and older games like Phantasmagoria.
- Even made time for a couple of the old pre-90s adventure games you have to input with a keyboard (namely Leisure Suit Larry and Space Quest). I never got into these because I've been spoiled by VGA graphics and sound cards, and anything older always came off as garish and clunky to me. Toying around with these games though, I actually found them charming and felt rewarded for making progress. I really need to load these up again and finish them.
- I started on quite a few older titles, mostly because of remasters (Jedi Outcast, Prototype 1 and 2, Doom 1 and 2, Battlezone Commander, Black Mesa).
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GAMES AL IS LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2021
- Far Cry 6. It'll probably be more of the same, but hot dang, the thrill of stalking enemies and overthrowing a savage totalitarian power in an exotic location will never grow old. The premise of the next one sounds just fine to me, and I expect it to be as enjoyable as the last one.
- Horizon Forbidden West. The first game was so good, I can't wait to re-enter this imaginative, beautiful world of robot animals and primitive tribes. If any game entices me to dive into the next generation of consoles, it'll be this one.
- Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. So, it's an old game presented that's been polished and re-sold to us, again. I'll take it though. Mass Effect is one game I believe deserves the "Legendary" moniker. I'll be looking forward to revisiting this superb sci-fi story, with its all its fantastic worlds and characters. I hope it'll be as breathtaking as the developers make it out to be.
- Scorn. I'm not even sure I want this one. Existing gameplay footage emphasizes grotesqueness and an oppressive atmosphere, and it might induce too much anxiety for me. With the HR Giger inspired designs, I am curious to see the final gameplay footage. This might be one rare case where I'd rather see a stream of it rather than to take direct control.
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