Top 10 Video Games of 2020

Ahhh 2020, what a crazy year it’s been! With the world going into lockdown, it was never a better time to be a gamer as we all struggled to keep ourselves busy. Fortunately enough, we have been blessed with some stellar releases this year in gaming so just before broketober comes around, I wanted to take a look at what releases absolutely blew us away this year!

Here we go…

Animal Crossing New Horizons

Do you want a game that’s going to consume your entire life? Of course you do and Animal Crossing New Horizons does just that. This world can easily become your second life, or even your first depending on how much time you spend in it.

Taking care of your island can easily become part of your daily routine, from fishing to shaking trees for wasps and slowly but surely paying off your mortgage to Tom Nook. Reading back, none of this sounds riveting and sounds more like busywork to the non initiated but Animal Crossing has such an amazing Charm to it that it never feels this way.

All of this work leads up to trying to create the best island you can flex your creative muscles along the way. From attracting new and interesting villagers to bringing friends to your island so you can share resources and catch things together.

If you’re wanting to know what makes Animal Crossing so wonderfully unique, you can see how exactly it will take over your life right here.

The Last of Us Part II

Okay, I’m going to skip around the story details controversy for this game but just so you know, I am in the camp that appreciated what Naughty Dog tried to do with the story. I’ve also not had a story impact me the way The Last of Us Part II did since The Witcher 3 I believe.

The graphics in this game are amazing, especially when you’re indoors where for me the lighting and detail of the environments jump to new levels. The level of detail in general that they have put into this game astounds me, from blood soaking through your freshly applied bandage to dogs actually mourning their owners if they die.

The gameplay is some of the most brutal and satisfying I’ve played, I even decided to try to play through on survival difficulty. Now, I don’t want to be one of those people but this is the way the game should be experienced in my eyes. I had to use every single thing in my inventory to survive and only fire a shot if absolutely necessary. Finding a bullet is an absolute fist pump moment and I remember dying on the 1st combat encounter 10 times! (I think that’s because I’m bad more than the difficulty) but each time I made it through one of these encounters, it was a really great feeling.

Doom Eternal

An intense, fast-paced shooter where the demons are terrified of you and not the other way around… it can only be Doom. After the success of Doom 2016 that brought us back to one of the most genre-defining series in history, ID Software needed to find a way to give us more Doom.

I always found the fights in the game to be more of a crazed panic, sprinting about the battlefield as you quickly find that you can’t stand still for long when fighting back the demonic hordes. There’s plenty of joy to be found jumping around the battlefield, glory killing and firing a big array of satisfying weapons at demons.

Doom makes you use your brain just as much as your trigger finger. Fights can become puzzles of you prioritising certain demons or particular enemies, making you change your playstyle entirely.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

In the last few years, many older games have had some beauty treatment and have been remastered for current consoles. They’ve had a brand new slick of paint with new added features and sometimes changes to the story and in my opinion, Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of the best examples of this.

Everything about the original game has been changed, with one of the main changes being the battle system. I remember being quite disappointed when hearing that the combats were going to real time instead of the turn-based system, but the system was flawlessly done with the strategy needed in combat maintained from the original.

Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life: Aly is VR done right.

Now it might not be the long-awaited Half-Life 3 that the players are desperately crying out for but it’s an incredible Half-Life and VR game all the same. The level of detail put into the VR for this game just elevates it to a whole new level as you are fully immersed is extraordinary.

The world and its environment is fully brought to life by how players can interact with it as you use your virtual hands-on most things in the world. Half-Life: Alyx reminds me of what I have always wanted from VR, a new level of immersion in gaming worlds I already lived in on the TV screen.

Ghost of Tsushima

I never understood why there hasn’t been more games that allow you to be a Samurai, but Ghost of Tsushima sure scratches that itch!

Sucker Punch has made one of the most stunning games of the generation with this game. The environment is alive as you traverse through it with trees and grass blowing in the wind and even has the best-looking grass I’ve seen in gaming. I know that these things might sound like only small things but like most games, everywhere is so pretty and noticeable and a great achievement for the creators.

I love the setting of the game as the island of Tsushima is invaded by Mongols, it’s your job to try and reclaim the island, pushing back the Mongols in the meantime. The combat is also really well done as the game focuses more on your skill in combat encounters rather than wailing on a guy for a few minutes because he’s a few levels higher than you. It’s refreshing knowing enemies can be beaten quickly if you’re skilled enough.

Fall Guys

Battle Royale mixed with Total Wipeout… why is this only just a thing? Fall Guys have taken the gaming world by storm.

I didn’t have a clue what this game was until I was actually mid download from it from PS plus when it saw it was causing quite the stir on social media! What followed for me and many others was mindless chaotic fun where you desperately try to qualify for the next round until you get to the final round where only one can win.

From jumping a spinning pole on a platform to desperately trying to avoid the rising slimb inappropriately named slimb climb, the games a guarantee to put a smile on your face!

Nioh 2

I remember seeing the release of Nioh 1 as it followed the soul’s formula but expanded on with its own take on the combat system. In Nioh 2, you need to master different stances to succeed in combat. Number 2 improves almost everything over the original with a far diverse range of enemies to fight and a larger variety of weapons to use depending on your playstyle.

Again like other games on the list, this game is graphically amazing and the game is incredibly detailed. I desperately want to jump into a souls like game and I’m thinking either Nioh 2 or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice could be great places to start.

Ori And The Will Of The Wisps

I’m starting to sound like a broken record at this point but it’s got to be said, Ori And The Will Of The Wisps is absolutely stunning and for me it’s the best looking 2D and platformer of the generation!

The level design in this game is so well done, the game even rewards you for exploring the environments but always leaves it as an option.

The animations in movement across the world and the world around you are as smooth as you like. You learn different skills and powers as you travel through the different worlds you have to explore which creates an amazing journey as you experience this masterpiece. An experience I recommend you have before the arrival of the new consoles.

Dreams

The genius in Dreams is all about the tools that it gives to players to use all of their creative powers to create gaming experiences to share with other gamers. I’ve seen entire games created using the toolkit which could easily feature on the PlayStation store to wonderful pieces of art.

The success of Dreams really hangs on the player base within it. Since Dreams has given those players the platform to create anything within their imagination using the array of tools provided, the game benefits from having an active community pumping out a variety of content!

There we have it. Those are my Top 10 Video Games of 2020 so far but there have been so many more amazing quality games released this year and many more to come so make sure to keep a lookout on our site for what’s to come!