GOTY 2020

[The Culture Bunker]

Does it actually work on PC/PS4 then? It was unplayable on Xbox.

As for Resi 3, it would have been great if it was 30 quid cheaper.

I tried Wasteland 2 on PS4 - and I really wanted to like it, hoping for a kind of mix between XCOM2 and Fallout: NV. Somehow, it just didn't work for me on any level and I barely played beyond the first mission.

RE3, I doubt I would pay more than a fiver for, given it's supposed to last about four hours.

[ImmaculateClump]

Prodeus - early access, so maybe doesn't count as a 2020 release, but what they've released so far is absolutely fantastic

Ooh yeah, I'm having fun with prodeus too!

It's been a good year for me, to be honest. Loads of great games coming thick and fast.

Mechanical Star Astra is looking absolutely immense. Gunfire Reborn got me back playing fps. Ginga Force got a pc port and while it's no eschatos, it's a worthy sequel and I'll be sinking lots of time into that beating my scores and rising up the leaderboards for years to come. Dezatopia, while it's no mecha ritz and the scoring is a bit funky, it was batshit crazy in a good way and I really enjoyed my time with it.
CosmoDreamer was an absolute blast. Super XYX was amazing. Approaching Infinity was a really comfy time sink that I only wish came out at the start of lockdown as it'd have kept me sane when I needed it.
Astral Gunners went into early access and that's great fun. Zenodeath rounded off the zeno trilogy in style.
Really enjoyed my time with wolcen as well, a half decent ARPG with a grindy but fun endgame. Ultrakill is good fun.

It hasn't been such a great year for AAA stuff but it's meant that all the indie lads and lasses got to stay home and work on their games!

The year ain't over and I haven't had loads of time to play but it's been really decent so far.

[Chedney Honks]

TLOU2
FF7R
.
.
Super Mario 3D All Stars
.
Missile Dancer
.
Road to Guangdong
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.
Crimzon Clover World Explosion
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Demon's Souls
.
Paratopic
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.
Microsoft Flight Sim
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.
.
.
.
Half Life: Alyx
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.
.
.
.
.
.
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Animal Crossing
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.
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51 Worldwide Games


The rest is a footnote.

[ImmaculateClump]

Half Life: Alyx

Woah! Just how powerful is this smint sized PC you bought? :D

Oh here, I saw this the other day and thought of you, it's got ps1 style graphics and photography! - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation

[rue the polywhirl]

Super Mario 3D Allstars

[Cold Meat Platter]

Joking aside, my actual GOTY is Ring Fit Adventure.

I'LL BET IT IS FALAFELAFEL YOU DIRTY OLD BOLLOCKS. I'LL BET IT FUCKING IS.

[Lemming]

Does it actually work on PC/PS4 then? It was unplayable on Xbox.

Just about worked for me on PC. The occasional glitch but nothing gamebreaking, no crashes as far as I can remember. Laughably long loading times in parts though.

[Mister Six]

Working fine for me on PS4, running off an SSD. Although I only started it a few days back and it's probably been patched to buggery since release.

I tried Wasteland 2 on PS4 - and I really wanted to like it, hoping for a kind of mix between XCOM2 and Fallout: NV. Somehow, it just didn't work for me on any level and I barely played beyond the first mission.

It gets substantially better as it goes along, and especially once you move to the next map. It does feel like a game that's kind of been built up as it's gone along and they've built up a bigger budget - the opposite of something like The Outer Worlds, which dribbles away as you go along, because they massively overestimated budget/dev time.

[Chedney Honks]

Woah! Just how powerful is this smint sized PC you bought? :D

Oh here, I saw this the other day and thought of you, it's got ps1 style graphics and photography! - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1223500/Umurangi_Generation

I haven't actually played it, just wanted to give an experimental ranking format. I don't know why.

And that Umurangi looks really interesting, just having a scan through some screenshots. Cheers for the tip off! Will give me a reason to crank up the Switch when it appears. Hopefully this year.

[ImmaculateClump]

Hmmm, it was just a reskin of
"best thing >> nearly best thing >>>>>>>> something you like"
You're washed up, mate. Fresh out of ideas (F/F/F)

My switch has been curled up next to the telly eating dust for so long. I'll have to blow it off and give it a cuddle one day.

[falafel]

I'LL BET IT IS FALAFELAFEL YOU DIRTY OLD BOLLOCKS. I'LL BET IT FUCKING IS.

You may mock but you should see what it's done for my flexibility

[Chedney Honks]

Hmmm, it was just a reskin of
"best thing >> nearly best thing >>>>>>>> something you like"
You're washed up, mate. Fresh out of ideas (F/F/F)

My switch has been curled up next to the telly eating dust for so long. I'll have to blow it off and give it a cuddle one day.

Hey I love 51 Worldwide Games!

When I think of the Switch nowadays I don't remember all the good times, I just think of the endless list of eShop purchases in my download list.

[Blue Jam]

Control and Superliminal for me chief.

Both 2019 games but what the hell.

[magval]

Aye same for me with Guacamelee 2 which is yonks old.

In fact here's all what I played this year.

Half Life 2 Episode 1 - Enjoyed it a lot but remember nothing. All I remember is enjoying it.

Resident Evil 3  - played it like 6 times but it's still not as good as Guacamelee 2.

Super Mario Maker 2 - finished this a year late, ace game.

Mickey Mania - Finished this for the first time as well, but the later levels I never got to as a kid aren't as good as the first couple.

Mickey's Ultimate Challenge - this game for children whose parents hate them only lasts about 20 minutes. It is shit.

Super Mario Bros 1 and 2 - Still class games, 2 is better.

The Last Of Us - 3rd time ever, still adore it.

The Last of Us 2 - Probably will never play it again and the darkness surrounding it online, which I didn't even directly look at, was an inescapably damaging presence and the world is fucking awful.

Inside - Brilliant and gross little puzzler. One of those games makes you feel smart.

Guacamelee 2 - Considered alongside the first one, from which it's not different enough, it's in my top 10 ever. Love the sound, feel and everything else about it.

[Blue Jam]

Tell me about it, one of the best games I played all year was Portal 2. 2011.

All the games I was looking forward to playing in 2020 now seem to be coming out in 2021. On the PS4/5.

[Chedney Honks]

Demon's Souls is definitely up there for me, but I'll stick with FF7R, at this point. The highs were higher than anything else, and I'm all about the peak experiences, really. I can forgive some wayward shitness for the unparalleled highs.

Remarkably, given how little I got from the first Spider-Man game, Miles Morales must also be in my top ten. Big budget AAA blockbuster shit near its best. The traversal, combat and tone of the thing were all a marked improvement and the protagonist is actually likeable, rather than a bit obnoxious.

[evilcommiedictator]

Dire, dire year, here's the best PC Steam games for the year:
https://steam250.com/2020

[Chedney Honks]

Yep, shit if you play on PC.

[brat-sampson]

Best game that released this year that I played was probably TLOU2, Hades, 13 Sentinels or FFVIIR.

I'd believe Half Life Alyx is better than all of them but it won't get recognition as it's just got such a high pre-req. to actually play.

But the best game *for* 2020 has to have been Animal Crossing. Like, no other choice. I'm still dipping in every week or so and finding my island getting all wintery and cosy. Yes, the updates have been a little disappointing, and the interface is clunky, and the crafting is a bit ehhh. But spending some time looking for fossils and catching bugs instead of looking at social media or the endless Wall of Depression that has been the news made life in 2020 so much more bearable for me and countless others, and nothing else has even come close in that sense.

I'd also say Ring Fit, but I bought that last October so there's no way to justify it as a goty 2020, even if I actually played it vastly more this year.

[Bazooka]

Not many FIFA 2021 mentions, bit surprised.

[peanutbutter]

Whats that There is No Game game like? It sounds like the kind of thing where the 2015 tech demo would probably get the point across and you're only paying to get the same joke beaten over your head for several hours

[Timothy]

Best game that released this year that I played was probably TLOU2, Hades, 13 Sentinels or FFVIIR.

I'd believe Half Life Alyx is better than all of them but it won't get recognition as it's just got such a high pre-req. to actually play.

But the best game *for* 2020 has to have been Animal Crossing. Like, no other choice. I'm still dipping in every week or so and finding my island getting all wintery and cosy. Yes, the updates have been a little disappointing, and the interface is clunky, and the crafting is a bit ehhh. But spending some time looking for fossils and catching bugs instead of looking at social media or the endless Wall of Depression that has been the news made life in 2020 so much more bearable for me and countless others, and nothing else has even come close in that sense.

I'd also say Ring Fit, but I bought that last October so there's no way to justify it as a goty 2020, even if I actually played it vastly more this year.

How was Sentinels? It's discounted now here (25 euros) and I'm still on the fence. Story looks great but not so sure about the battles. Is it like X-Com or Fire Emblem? Or completely different?

I have to agree with Harpo about Miles Morales. Really fun game. Bought the Remastered version yesterday, looking forward to play that again. I also have to put Astro's Playroom somewhere in my top 10. One of the most fun experiences I've had with a game this year.

[falafel]

Whats that There is No Game game like? It sounds like the kind of thing where the 2015 tech demo would probably get the point across and you're only paying to get the same joke beaten over your head for several hours

Got a pass from me because despite being French it was not called 'ceci n'est pas un jeu'.

[Thursday]

Can we stop pretending Animal Crossing is good now? I know it was nice to get into when we'd all started lockdown but honestly thinking on it, it's genuinely terrible. Sunk Cost Fallacy: The Game.

[Timothy]

Nah. Animal Crossing is genuinely a good game. And the updates keep it fresh.

[Chedney Honks]

It's like reheating a Greg's white dogshit pastie every month. Don't make it any more appetising.

[brat-sampson]

How was Sentinels? It's discounted now here (25 euros) and I'm still on the fence. Story looks great but not so sure about the battles. Is it like X-Com or Fire Emblem? Or completely different?

I have to agree with Harpo about Miles Morales. Really fun game. Bought the Remastered version yesterday, looking forward to play that again. I also have to put Astro's Playroom somewhere in my top 10. One of the most fun experiences I've had with a game this year.

I'd say worth it for the story alone, which is probably over 50% of the game. The battles are engaging enough, but it's Real-Time with Pause rather than turn-based, and there's no hit/miss%, so it doesn't really feel like XCom or FE. Strategy comes more from loadout choices, positioning and energy management. It's above fine, but not incredible.

[ImmaculateClump]

Yep, shit if you play on PC.

just scanning the top of that list, the two actually good games that caught my eye, risk of rain 2 and noita both came out last year. It's worse than you thought! :D

I still think it's been a good year, but then I play stoopid games for poopooheads.

If we're doing the "well it didn't come out this year but" thing, I got into dodonpachi at the start of the year and it's faaaabulous! Though i still fucking hate the stage long chaining scoring system.
Balls to that, it's too much like homework refining and practising a route. It's so unforgiving, it's too tight cap'n, she cannae hold! I just like shooting the baddies and collecting the stars, so I won't be bothering the big boys at the top of the leaderboard but it was so much fun getting the 1cc.
Getting a 2-all looks like an absolute waste of life as well, so that's not happening.

[Thursday]

Okay so the top 10 is

Yakuza LAD

XCOM Chimera Squad
Kentucky Route Zero
Paradise Killer
HARD LADS
Destiny 2: Beyond Light

Resident Evil 3
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)
Tony Hawks Pro Skater
Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Worst game of the year was The Last of Us 2. Yeah I know that's all "oooh check out my hot take"  but the only other games from this year I played this year were

Animal Crossing
Ghost of Tsushima
Genshin Impact
Doom Eternal

(Mario Allstars doesn't count)

[Kelvin]

Can we stop pretending Animal Crossing is good now? I know it was nice to get into when we'd all started lockdown but honestly thinking on it, it's genuinely terrible. Sunk Cost Fallacy: The Game.

I think it's a really good game for as long as you can be arsed being creative and building out/overhauling your island. The moment you decide to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour, it suddenly becomes massively boring and repetitive - same dialogue, same tasks, same everything. As I said in the thread at the time, you have to be working towards something at all times, and if you don't have that, or can't be bothered investing that much time, there's nothing else to the game.

I think this also ties into why most of us have found the updates uninspiring. Once I had made my island and got it how I wanted it, I wasn't interested in re-decorating everything, grinding out all the new DIY recipes from scratch, just for a few weeks of the event, etc. It's a game where you either have to invest lots of time and creativity, or get absolutely nothing out of it.