A Year in Review - 2020

[kashell]

2020 has been brutal for everyone, but it still went by pretty quickly. Let's try to add some brightness to it as this nasty year gets closer to the end. Once again, I thought it would be fun for everyone to reflect on their gaming journeys throughout the year. I'll make some categories. You fill them in. This has always been fun for me to read. Hopefully, it's just as fun for the rest of you.

Categories:

Favorite 2020 Release: What's your favorite game that you played this year that was released in 2020?

Least Favorite 2020 Release: On the opposite end, what's your least favorite game released in 2020?

Favorite Game Played in 2020: What game this year earns your spot for best game ever? It could be released in 2020 if you like.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: What's your least favorite game that you played this year?

Sleeper Hit of 2020: What's your personal sleeper hit for 2020?

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: What moment in a game you played this sticks in your head the strongest? Was it something awesome? Something tragic? Something completely over the top? Keep spoilers to a minimum or mark them if you can.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: Share a story about a cool find from this year!

I'll give my answers in my next post. Have fun!

[kamikazekeeg]

I still got Cyberpunk 2077 coming out next week, which could shake up my list possibly, but otherwise here it is for me.

Categories:

Favorite 2020 Release: Final Fantasy 7 Remake - While I was excited for this release, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.  I know it's a somewhat controversial decision to not make a straight remake of the original games gameplay and story, but to me it made the game really exciting and fresh and now I'm even more pumped for the upcoming parts.

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Avengers - I don't think this game is as bad as it is made out to be, like there are terrible things about this game, particularly on PS4 with its performance and the lack of good content for continued play, but the story was good, the gameplay is generally good, it just had no chance when people turned against the art style and it came out very clearly 6 months to early and even with some upcoming updates it is unlikely to turn things around at this point.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Control - I really hadn't seen much on this game from anyone else playing it, so didn't know a whole lot about the game other than it's trailer, and I ended up loving this game, primarily because the whole story and setting.  You come to this strange building hoping to find your brother, and it turns out to be a secret agency that is there to contain objects imbued with unnatural powers and deal with unexplainable events.  It's like SCP/Cabin in the Woods/Warehouse 13 and I absolutely love that.  The general gameplay is just okay, it improves later when you amp your weaponry and powers, but I really hope this game gets a sequel.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: Fallout 76 - I beat the main original story in this purely out of fan stubbornness, because no matter what anyone says about the state of this game right now, it is not a good game.  Even two years past release, it's still an absolute disaster, it just has actual content that isn't garbage at this point.  The original storyline is so bad and while I know the content they added after is better, feels more like a regular Fallout game, the game itself is still super bad with performance issues and huge amounts of bugs.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Maneater - This was possibly the most goofy fun game I played this year.  It's a short game, it's gimmick is that you are a shark that eats things, that's it, but this is one of the games where you don't care about story or characters, you just want to swim around, enjoy the humor and ridiculous violence.  It's something I really hope gets a DLC expansion or an eventual sequel because there is so much more they could do with it I think.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Maybe the reaction to the ending of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.  I won't say anything on it, but most people by now know that things get nuts.

[Cartagia]

Taking a chance by posting this before Cyberpunk 2077 is out next week, but the odds are I won't be picking it up for a while.

Favorite 2020 Release: Doom Eternal.  Rip and Tear, indeed.

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Avengers, I guess?  I've only played like 4-5 games that were released this year, and I enjoyed all of them to some degree.  I haven't played this, but everything I see makes me less and less interested in it.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Divinity: Original Sin.  And I've heard the sequel is that much better.  I should be getting to it soon.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: New Super Luigi U.  Never been a fan of the "New" series.  This one was marginally better than the others I've played.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2.  A shame this didn't get as much attention as the previous game as it is better in pretty much every way.

Favorite Gaming Moment of 2020: My first crown in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.  What an exhilarating experience that was.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: I think this was this year?  But I got a copy of the Wii version of the OG Pikmin at Goodwill for $2.  Just Goodwill finds, in general, really.

[bikingjahuty]

Favorite 2020 Release: Final Fantasy VII Remake - this honesty ended up being better than I thought it would, and as blasphemous as this might sound, I actually like it more than the original. I am ultra hyped for its sequel!

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Probably due to COVID, but I felt like the release calendar this year was pretty sparse. I normally don't play a ton of new releaseses anyways, but I played even less this year. With that said it would undoubtedly be The Last of Us Part 2. The twist halfway through the game, as well as the whole moral ambiguity message really felt like more of a slap in the face than a competent writing decision. With that said, I intend on finishing it someday, but I was so put off by the middle of the game that I abandoned it with a very sour taste in my mouth.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Super Mario 64 - I've played and beat this game countless times since it originally came out, but in a way I fell in love with it all over again with its Switch release.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: The Last of US Part 2

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Klonoa: Door to Phantomile - I ended up loving this game way more than I thought I would. This game actually made me feel slightly emotional at certain points, as genuinely surprised me with how deep it was despite its cutesy presentation. Really, really good game overall.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Installing a MODE into a Saturn with a failing disc drive and having nearly every rare, sought after, and fun game released on that console contained within a SSD on my TV. Got to play Psychic Assassin Taromaru finally, which was a game I thought a few years ago I'd never be able to play given how expensive and rare it is. Now I'm hooked on ODEs and flashcart and want more.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: FINALLY creating a youtube channel and having decent success with it thus far. I'm far from being AVGN or John Tron, but I'm really happy to see the positive response to my videos and also seeing my views and subs grow. I'm looking forward to creating some of the videos I have planned for next year, and should have at least one more up before the ned of the year.

[droaa]

Favorite 2020 Release: Resident Evil 3-It missed the mark in some aspects compared to the original but still well executed

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Only other 2020 release I played was Last of Us Part II so I guess it would go here but I still liked it very much

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Mafia II-Heard good things about this one for years and it did not disappoint

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: Silent Hill: Homecoming-As a fan of Silent Hill going back to the first, I have no clue what happened with this one but man did it have problems

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Doki Doki Literature Club-I kind of knew what I was getting myself into but as I progressed, it got more bizarre than I could have ever imagined

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: The cutscene right before the final boss fight in Matrix: Path of Neo. All I will say is the Wachoski Brothers and Atari graphics

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: I guess my most recent in getting a PS5 on launch day around 2am. I got really and I mean really lucky using Sony's virtual line that morning. This would make it the first time I have ever gotten on launch

[shawndude82]

Favorite 2020 Release: Last of Us Part 2

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Yakuza: Like A Dragon doesn't need to exist.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Grandia remastered.  Still love that soundtrack.  Sue still has the best healing spell ever.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: Undertale.  I tried to like it.  It just isn't for me.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Mousecraft.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Ellie's birthday in Last of Us Part 2

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: A sealed copy of Conquest of the World for the Magnavox Oddyssey2.  It still has the Sears Shipping label stuck on it too.  Apparently the dude's mom bought it for him for Christmas back in '82 and she hid it in the attic and forgot about it.

Edit:  Did I dodge a bullet by not buying the Avengers game?  I know nothing about it other than everyone's mad that the character models don't look like famous Hollywood people.

[kamikazekeeg]

Edit:  Did I dodge a bullet by not buying the Avengers game?  I know nothing about it other than everyone's mad that the character models don't look like famous Hollywood people.

I think it's a fine game with problems.  The vitriol it earned from the art style was pretty overblown, yeah it's kinda weird that they almost look like the MCU actors, but also not, it isn't the best, though it isn't bad.  It then got flack for being a "Game as a Service" sort of deal, but didn't have the long term content for it like a Destiny game does.  It at least doesn't have much microtransactions to it other than some outfit stuff.  On at least PS4, it also has performance issues, which was my biggest problem with the game.  On PS5 though, most of that is gone and it plays great, not sure of its current status on PS4 after the updates it got.  I think the game is a totally fine buy at like 20 to 30 bucks, there's new story/character DLC coming soon, the singleplayer was solid enough to me, and while I'm not gonna be putting Monster Hunter World hours into it, I think it's an alright time.

[NickAwesome]

Favorite 2020 Release: Does Hades count? It was in early access for a few years but if I can count it- then definitely Hades. Such an incredible game. If not- Doom Eternal for sure- that game delivered

Least Favorite 2020 Release: XIII remake- I was a huge fan of the original, was super bummed that after a crazy cliffhanger ending, there was never a sequel.  I hear about the remake/remaster and get my hopes up and it turns out to be an absolutely pathetic attempt. They fucked it up so bad.  Biggest letdown of the year for me. 

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Hades

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: Carmageddon 64- framerate was so bad it made me want to hurl. Out of all the retro pickups I had this year, that one was by far the most memorable piece of trash that I had the pleasure of booting up.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020 that I completed: Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel II- After really enjoying the first entry, the second game was a major disappointment. Not a bad game by any means but it dragged on for so long and some story elements frustrated me. My brother is trying to get me to play III but I need a break from LOH for a while.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Bugsnax! Everyone wrote it off for being cutesy and dumb but it's actually a really bizarre and dark game. Also want to shout out Carrion for Switch- truly one of the more original games I played this year.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Probably either beating Hades for the first time or booting up Demon's Souls on PS5 for the first time- welcome to the next gen

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: I completed my NTSC Playstation 1 set! And may complete Dreamcast too! One game away...

[bunnybear]

Favorite 2020 Release: Assault Android Cactus + (Switch). Twin stick shooter par excellence.

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Haven’t played any real stinkers from this year.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: It’s a tie between AAC + describe above, and Raging Loop (Switch) - the latter possibly one of the best VNs ever made/written.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: Panty Party (Switch). What. A. Turd. Honorable mention goes to Steredenn: Binary Stars (Switch). This shooter is massively overrated, and frankly has some of the worst enemy design and game design choices I’ve ever seen in the genre.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Raging Loop. Unless you hate VNs, you need to play this. Criminally overlooked.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Getting back into Tekken 7 and determining to play competitively. Just need to relocate the wired internet to minimize lag, lol

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: Cutting my number of games purchased by 50% compared to 2019, itself also a 50% reduction compared to 2018.

[pzeke]

Edit:  Did I dodge a bullet by not buying the Avengers game?

Yes. Yes you did.

[kashell]

I've enjoyed the responses so far. Also, Raging Loop is now on my radar.

Ahem.

Favorite 2020 Release: Trials of Mana. I'm still kind of surprised that this even happened in the first place. They revamped the stuff that needed revamping from the Super Nintendo version, and added a boatload of modern touches to it. It's not a perfect game (the voice acting is phoned in and Charlotte's "accent" is atrocious) but I still give it tens across the board for being such a blast. Also, major honorable mention to 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. More people need to play this!

Least Favorite 2020 Release: While the digital version was released in 2019, my physical version of Blasphemous arrived this year. The game was a complete let down. It had such a promising start, but after the first couple of hours all of its issues started coming to the forefront.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: One of the perks of quarantine was getting more time to knock out some backlog items. I played a lot of great games this year. Still, I have to give this to Trials of Mana. Honorable mentions include Soul Nomad and the World Eaters, AI: The Somnium Files and Ys Origin.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: And similarly, I played a lot of crap this year. But this category belongs to Bendy and the Ink Machine. Garbage in game form. Dishonorable mentions for Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon and Gungrave: Overdose.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Moon. Never in a million years would I have expected one of the most quirky and obscure RPGs from the PlayStation to receive an official translation.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: I played through Sekiro this year, so my favorite moment was when everything in that game clicked.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: Due to the 'rona, I didn't go to my usual stops or out n' about for game hunting. But, I was over the moon when the mini TurboGrafx-16 (sp) arrived. It opened up an entirely new world of games for me; one that I completely missed out on back in its day.

[telekill]

Favorite 2020 Release: Ghost of Tsushima - Fantastic game. The setting, even on my launch PS4, looked phenomenal. I haven't had time to play much of the newer co-op mode, but I'm planning on it. The single player had great writing and made you care not only about the main character, but also the people of Tsushima.

Runners Up: Streets of Rage 4, FF7 Remake, Astro's Playroom, AC Valhalla.

Least Favorite 2020 Release: I generally don't buy most games that release the year that they release. Not really sure which would be a least favorite. I'm at the point in my life where I know what I like. If the game looks like it's going to play the way I enjoy, I'll generally give it a shot. Otherwise, I don't bother.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Streets of Rage 4 - This game was a really great continuation of the Genesis/Game Gear series. It's simply fun to play; especially with friends. The co-op beat'em up keeps me coming back between more story heavy games.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Astro's Playroom - Going through and unlocking all the "artifacts" in Astro's Playroom was a blast. I felt it was an incredible way to start the new generation via honoring the past. I made it my mission to unlock all the artifacts and eventually got my first PS5 platinum trophy due to simply enjoying this game and the nostalgia hit.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: I suppose the easy answer is simply getting a PS5 at launch, but I'll go with a more personal one. Earlier this year, I made an honest effort at making a Ninja Turtles game for the Sega Game Gear. As one was never created for the system due to Nintendo having a deal with Konami for the IP, it never panned out. While I got quite a bit done, even having a mock gameplay (skip to the 2 min mark after 30 seconds or so), the programming side of things eluded me. I was able to make the box, cartridge label and even a full instruction manual with an 8 page starter story. It looks legit which is impressive to say the least. Took many many hours of work just to get what I did done. Sadly, not a playable game still.

Link to Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puQ_irGnNgw

[ignition365]

As always, gonna add stuff

Favorite 2020 Release: I could see Miles Morales, Demon's Souls, and/or Cyberpunk topping my list, but I don't know if I'll buy any of those games before the end of the year.  Currently, top of my list is The Last of Us: Part II.  Gameplay was solid, story was intense, and left you with a lot of thinking.

Least Favorite 2020 Release: I'm gonna tentatively say Avengers.  I wasn't the worst, but it definitely felt bland.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: The Last of Us Part II.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: As much as all of the Sonic games were terrible... I got through them.  Final Fantasy VI though, I abandoned around level 18.  I'll try to go back to it, but it was just hard to get into and at this point it's been so long since I played.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: Maneater.  This game was a blast to play.  I enjoyed every minute of getting every achievement in this game.  I'll give an honorable mention to Fallout 76.  I finally decided to give the game a go because I really wanted to play Fallout, but didn't want to play the same stuff I've already played over and over.  It sated me of that, it's not a good Fallout game by any means, and the lack of offline really makes it annoying, but it was an enjoyable experience for me.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Gosh, probably Demon's Souls remake announcement.  Maybe something in FF7R as I had never played FF7 before and that game was just a joy to play.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: I got a lot of games imported this year what with pandemic and all.  I bought display cases and finally displayed tons of my statues and stuff.  Right before starting WFH stuff I got the watermelon red N64 (still missing controller )  I got a bad ass double fight stick.  I got the dual analog joystick controller for PS1 (despite it being in shit shape) and a bunch of games I've been wanting for the longest time like Sakura Wars and Soul Nomad.  Also really happy about how little I've been spending this year because I almost never leave the house anymore.


And as always I'm going to add some of my own categories

Proudest Gaming Accomplishment in 2020: It's not really gaming as much as gaming related, but with the help of Ring Fit Adventure I lost ~30lbs.  Another 5-10 lbs and my BMI will be the top end of average/normal.  I haven't been Ring Fitting as much lately if at all, but I've been using a treadmill and that's been working pretty well for me.  Alternatively 100%ing Super Mario Sunshine.

Favorite Game Revisited in 2020: Fallout New Vegas was pretty fun to replay this year.  Super Mario 64 and Sunshine were pretty fun too..  And of course I went and played MGSV again like I seem to always do, this time on Xbox One.

Least Favorite Game beat in 2020: So many terrible Sonic games.  I'll mostly point out Sonic Adventure, Adventure 2, and Heroes.  Those were terrrrrrrible.

Top 10 Games played in 2020:

• The Last of Us: Part II (PS4)
• Resident Evil 3 (PS4)
• Atelier Ryza (NS)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)
• Ghost of Tsushima (PS4)
• Maneater (X1)
• Dragon Quest XI S (NS)
• Judgment (PS4)
• Clannad (NS)
• Chrono Trigger (NDS)

Ten worst games played in 2020

• Sonic Heroes (GCN)
• Sonic Adventure 2 (GCN)
• Sonic Adventure DX (X1BC)
• Sonic Spinball (GEN)
• Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (X1BC)
• Muppets Movie Adventure (PSV)
• Fractured Minds (X1)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts (NS)
• Pan-Pan (NS)
• Gris (NS)

[shawndude82]

Ignition, you accidentally put Final Fantasy VI in the wrong category.  It was a simple typo, I'm sure .
Otherwise great list.

If we're adding our own categories:

Best Gaming News of 2020: The return of G4TV

Worst Gaming News of 2020: Dragon Age's voice actor for Cullen is kind of a douche and won't be coming back, likely.

Best Personal Gaming Experience of the Year: Had a fun virtual vacation with my friends on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.  We chilled on the beach, got attacked by a tarantula that we couldn't catch, and built an epic garden of Eden type place on one side of the island.

Worst Personal Gaming Experience of the Year: My friend and I hunted down the Legendary ghost panther in Red Dead online after an hour of looking, only to have our kill stolen off our dead corpses by another well armed player.

[dhaabi]

Favorite 2020 Release: As a spectator to watching someone else play through the game, I fell in love with The Last of Us: Part II. This comes after not enjoying my viewing of The Last of Us, which I am of the opinion of it being an average game with some good story elements.

Least Favorite 2020 Release: Not that it is a bad game, but Animal Crossing: New Horizons earns this slot. I fell into a deep hole playing this one. I dropped it five months post-release after not feeling great about how much time I've invested into it and haven't looked back. I'd like to re-visit it sometime, but it's difficult for me go to back to a game that warrants daily playing and upkeep without getting stuck in a downward spiral.

Favorite Game Played in 2020: Looking for something casual yet fun, I bought Hidden Folks on a whim. Taking a Where's Waldo? or I Spy approach as an interactive game, I had so much fun completing this.

Least Favorite Game Played in 2020: While I had some sense of enjoyment playing through Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in the weeks leading up to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, I look back on my time with this title as heavily wasted. I haven't really played mobile games prior to this, and I don't think I will anytime soon.

Sleeper Hit of 2020: I'm cheating on this one by a margin of just two weeks, but Wattam maintains that child-like charm and wonder that creator Keita Takahashi has come to give the world across these last fifteen years.

Favorite Gaming Moment in 2020: Captivated by games whose developers have really taken a chance on their project in terms of art direction and unique art styles, I cannot overlook how beautiful Gris presents itself. As the players continues to progress, everything only becomes more and more stunning.

Proudest Collection Accomplishment of 2020: Although the means of obtaining was just through an eBay listing, I'm proud to finally be invested in the .hack universe after securing .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, and .hack//Outbreak! I'm definitely proud of the lot price I paid for the three, too! Now, I've got to decide if I want to spend quite the amount on .hack//Quarantine.

And, lifting a category (and even response) from ignition365...

Proudest Gaming Accomplishment in 2020: As someone who was beginning to exercise regularly prior to the pandemic, it was disappointing to not have the opportunity to visit the gym I before frequented. Eventually, though, I was able to secure a copy of Ring Fit Adventure. As someone who already was in fine shape yet largely lacked fitness health, having the means to now workout effectively at home anytime I'm wanting to has been great. I set time to play every other day, and the results of feeling stronger are definitely apparent!