Game of the Year 2020
Games yet to play that I assume would be in contention: Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Spiritfarer, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
List items
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THPS 2 is my favorite game of all time. Playing Tony Hawk 2 that perfectly controls in modern context, arguably even better than the gold standard THUG 2, is, without hyperbole, a dream come true.
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Demon's Souls is an absolute triumph. I'd be remiss to not firstly mention its beauty. This is, with a bullet, the best looking game I've ever played. I never played the original Demon's Souls, so this was all new to me, but I can imagine this may have been equally exciting if not more exciting for someone who's played it before. The broken up level design was refreshing to me as someone who's played most of the Souls games and the often gimmicky boss design helps differentiate Demon's Souls as something wholly its own. It's certainly the easiest Souls game I've played, but it is SO MUCH FUN.
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A caveat for Hades being #3 is that I played the bulk of my gameplay time in 2018 and 2019 upon its release in early access (it was my #2 game of 2018). I had beaten the then final boss multiple times and had completed the mirror, etc. I had played it all. I seldom returned to it until they released 1.0 in 2020 and it felt nearly new all over again. I found success with weapons I didn't previously, loved the areas I hadn't experienced before, and bested grumpy old dad the 10 times to see the ending. What a game this is. Had I just come to this is 2020, it would have very easily challenged for #1.
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Ori and the Blind Forest was an absolute gem that resonates with everything I love about games. Precise controls, amazing visuals, and a touching story. Will of the Wisps improves upon its predecessor in every way and kept me glued all the way to 100%.
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Spider Man 1 was my GOTY in 2018. I think it's pretty telling of how good of a year for games 2020 has been that I believe Miles Morales is a better game than Spidey 2018 and it only managed #4. Everything about this game fits its protagonist perfectly - from the music, story, and abilities. This was also my first experience on the PS5. Load times and visuals are fantastic...especially those load times.
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I can't say what hasn't been said about this game before. This is a love letter to Playstation and man was I here for it. The level of detail put into the hardware models is so much fun to examine and finding each new one literally felt like opening a gift. Oh yeah...it's also a world class controlling 3d platformer too.
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While TLOU2 does in fact drag itself out to an exhausting extent, I came away from it with very strong positive feelings toward the story. It really does make you feel like you're on an epic adventure of grand scale. I grew to love and hate both Ellie and Abby at different times - which is clearly by design. I think where this game succeeds, it can simultaneously fail, but overall I left it very memorably.
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I know some people are saying Ghost of Tsushima made the best Assassin's Creed game of the year...I say "NO THEY DID NOT!" This is obviously more unabashed Assassin's Creed. But I love Assassin's Creed. I think I always will. While Valhalla doesn't hit the same high that Origins did, it is more or less more enjoyable than Odyssey was and continues to build on an incredibly enjoyable formula. Movement and some AI bugs will never not be problematic, but without them would this really be Assassin's Creed?
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It's honestly just what I like about Assassin's Creed and really nothing more. This game was pretty as hell, but otherwise, it just felt like a slightly less sprawling AC game for better and worse. But again...I love Assassin's Creed!
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This was such an enjoyable small horror game. The story is fascinating and the controls are as well. I simply haven't ever played a game like this before.
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While this game technically came out in 2019, I came to it this year on Gamepass. I wanted to dip my toe into some kind of automation building game and my god I was hooked on Forager for weeks until I "completed" it. I got to the point of there being so much shit on the screen churning out new materials that my framerate would crumble. I can't think of a better way to beat a game than to cripple it with its own potential. It's so much fun.
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