by thesilentgod
The year of madness, as a pandemic shut down the world and games became a more significant part of my free time and life again as a result. It really helped that 2020 had some incredible releases that I could spend a lot of time and attention on, and that were worth the investment.
I feel that 2020 demonstrated the importance of games as a way to escape events, and as a meaningful hobby.
Showing 1-10 of 10 items
Supergiant have been making excellent games since they released Bastion, but Hades is not only their best work yet, it is one of the most exciting and powerful games I have played. A phenomenal soundtrack, intriguing and rewarding gameplay, speed that just pulls you in to the game loop and outstanding writing along with a Greek mythology setting and gorgeous aesthetic combine to create a masterclass in gaming. What an incredible feat, worthy of Olympus.
Addictive strategy returns and this one absolutely devoured my time as I spend scores of hours furthering my dynasty in a range of historical start dates. While lacking the sheer mountain of content hat Crusader Kings 2 has, this game beats it in most meaningful ways and with a greater focus on making the whole world look and feel authentic. Stellar strategy game.
This hit me much harder than I thought, being skeptical of the FF7 story being broken up into multiple releases and thinking this would be a nostalgia driven cash grab. What has been delivered is instead a mechanically deep RPG game which honours the legacy of the original while subverting expectations in some incredible ways and with stunning music and visuals as well as a massive campaign that in no way left me feeling short changed by its end. Complete triumph for Square and a game that brings me right back to the 90's while having the excellence of a modern cutting edge title.
I believe this is an underrated gem that took from a range of very successful games but wrapped them into its own setting and style and made a brilliant open world game with lots to love. Yes it is iterative of the likes of Breath of the Wild, but the quality is here and it actually gets over a lot of the complaints I have had re Ubisoft titles for a few years, and all with quite a sense of humour and attention to impressive scale and player autonomy in how to tackle the world. It feels like I am the only one who played it out of people I know in person, but I highly rate this game.
I always thought RE2 was a considerably better game than RE3, and this stands more true than ever with the remakes. Honestly, while very visually impressive I was disappointed to see the much feared Nemesis monster reduced to effectively scripted sequences and some very monotonous enemies that let this one down. It really did feel like a DLC pack for RE2 remake and while completely competent and fun it is not a big impact game and one that will remain in the shadow of its far more impressive predecessor for me.
