2020 has been a roller coaster ride. Nobody expected that it went down as one of the weirdest years of the 21st century so far. It’s the year where our wishes for an extended weekend were granted in a single blow but proves that too much of it is bad. Because of that, one of the main sources of entertainment during our in-house confinement is video games. This brings us to our topic for today. We are going to look at some of the best and the not so good games in 2020.
Before we jump into the list, it is only fair to say that we are going to base our list on user reviews or the overall popularity of the game. Odd as it may seem, but 2020 also showed us the great divide between the elite critics and the humble gamers.
With that in mind, the voices or opinions of the gamers weigh far more than those of a critic do. No offense to the ‘critics’ but for this reason, we will not entertain the critically-acclaimed and award recipients, unless the award is a result of a majority vote from players. After all, a game that is one of the best should be flying off the shelves and not piling up or bundled with other games.
The Best Games of 2020
From a humble player’s perspective, a video game becomes great when it is unapologetic and free from unnecessary nonsense. Apart from that, a great game is fun to play and immersive without nonsensical ideologies being force-fed to the players. On top of that, it also gets its acclaim from gamers and not from critics with their ideologically driven reviews. Therefore, a great game is focused more on bringing an exceptional and immersive experience without the added cringe.
Doom Eternal
Doom Eternal is a great example of what a sequel should look and feel. Bethesda did an exceptional job making the classic gameplay mechanics of the game work harmoniously with the new elements. In the game, it allows players to decide if they just want to shoot and kill demons or immerse themselves in the game’s narrative. Playing Doom Eternal is a fun experience that does not in any way disappoints players.
Doom Eternal takes place on Earth eight months after the events on Mars. By this time, the demonic forces managed to wipe out more than half of the entire global population. You, once again, take the role of the Doom Marine in a quest to end hell’s untimely domination of the earth.
This first-person shooter game features an immersive single-player campaign, a new multiplayer called battle mode, and invasion. Currently, there is one expansion for the game called The Ancient Gods Part 1, which was released in October 2020.
Among Us
Among Us is one of the big surprises of 2020. After being dormant for more than two years, the game finally made it big thanks to the effort of Twitch Streamer Sodapoppin, who’s credited for popularizing the game. Before becoming the highlight of every major gaming site, Among Us used to have 30-50 players.
Thanks to both the Twitch and YouTube gaming community, Among Us is now hosting 3.9 million players at its peak, which is a well-deserved achievement given its innovative gameplay. Although Among Us is currently available on Steam and mobile, Innersloth is planning to make it available on consoles.
Fall Guys
Fall Guys is another game popularized by the gaming community. For those who are new to the title, it is a competitive multiplayer game that can host up to 60 players. The game combines the last man standing mechanics of battle royale with wacky events inspired by Takeshi’s Castle. Moreover, Fall Guys sold more than 11 million copies on PC as of December 2020, thus considered to be the most downloaded PS Plus game of all time. Ultimately, Fall Guys offers a brutally wholesome fun that is impossible to put down.
Half-Life: Alyx
Half-Life: Alyx proves that virtual reality has a bright future ahead. Valve did an awesome job in the game’s development as it defined the dying platform of Virtual Reality. The game takes place five years after the events of the last installment, Half-Life 2. Players take the role of Alyx Vance in her quest to recover a superweapon that belongs to the Alien Combine.
Half-Life: Alyx employs the use of gravity gloves that function like the Gravity gun in Half-Life 2. The Gravity Glove allows players to manipulate objects and interact with puzzles in the game. Furthermore, Half-Life: Alyx is compatible with Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, and all Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is a PlayStation exclusive game developed by Sucker Punch. In an interesting turn of events, Ghost of Tsushima has been the target of woke journalists since its launch (not that it matters for gamers). From a gamer’s perspective, the game presents one of the best open-world samurai-themed gameplay in the 21st century. Sucker Punch really outdid themselves in producing a well-written narrative integrated with one of the most intense sword-based gameplay in gaming.
Ghost of Tsushima follows the exploits of Jin Sakai in his bloody quest to Tsushima Island of the invading Mongols. The game is set in a picturesque open-world environment with memorable characters and different side quests, in addition to the main missions. An expansion called Ghost of Tsushima: Legends made its way to the game in October 2020. The expansion, which comes with new classes, new game plus, new features, and missions, surprised players when it was announced as a free download a month before its launch.
Ghost of Tsushima is a great example of an unadulterated game that delivers or for the most part, exceeds the expectations of the player.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of those Nintendo games expected to sell millions of copies. This social simulation game brings together the best elements of the classic Animal Crossing with new elements and mechanics. Moreover, Animal Crossing broke sales records for digital sales when it managed to sell over 5 million copies. As of the moment, the game holds the 28th spot in the list of the best-selling video games in history.
Thanks to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, staying at home all day during the pandemic becomes less boring and more fun. Furthermore, the game is available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
More 2020 video games deserve acclaim and acknowledgment. However, the games above are what we saw as some of the best the past year has to offer.
The Not-So-Good & Overrated Games of 2020
While we already talked about the best games in 2020, let’s now talk about the four overrated games of 2020.
The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us Part II is one of the most gorgeous games of 2020. The game has excellent design, a highly detailed environment, immersive combat, and superior graphics. The problem of this game is the narrative, which did not only force-fed its senseless ideology to the player but also gave them no choice but to experience it.
The narrative of the game tried so hard to please the ‘woke’ crowd or those who do not play the game and insult the core fans of the game altogether. Like most woke projects, the game was praised by the elite woke journalists, making it one of the most overrated games of 2020 in our opinion. Despite its corrupted and toxic narrative, the Last of Us Part II succeeded in destroying the narrative and the fandom.
As a reward for its awesome feat, The Game Awards showered the game with woke awards, satisfying the creator’s constant thirst for conformity. That said, if you have played the first installment of the game, then try to treasure that experience and not corrupt it by playing the sequel.
Marvel’s Avengers
Marvel’s Avengers is another overrated game that showed much promise that it somehow failed to deliver. Since its reveal in 2017, fans of the franchise patiently waited for the game’s release. It was not until two years later that a gameplay trailer of the game was launched hyping up the crowd once again. Marvel’s Avengers launched in September 2020 and became an overnight disappointment.
For starters, the game has audio-visual issues, overwhelming quick-time events, confusing interface, less engaging battles, and live service. The game launched on top of the sales chart however, the game also managed to lose 96% of its players in just two months after launch.
Star Wars: Squadrons
Star Wars is one of the franchises in history successfully ruined by ‘wokeness’ and poor planning. Since EA took ahold of the video game rights, the existence of a fun and immersive Star Wars game has to emerge. However, it seems that the publisher is not planning to launch a game without heavy monetization.
With that said, in October 2020, EA launched the microtransaction-free game Star Wars: Squadron. Don’t get us wrong, the game itself is not bad especially for its $40 price tag. However, Star Wars Squadron feels like you’re playing an entire level ripped off from a full Star Wars game. Come to think of it, $40 is still a high price to pay for a mediocre dogfighting game.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is an overhyped game that failed to deliver most of its promises to the gaming populace. What was once the most anticipated game of the year sadly devolved into the most disappointing one in just a couple of days since its launch. In fairness to CD Projekt Red, the PC version of the game plays fine. But, the problem lies with its console version, which, according to most players, is unplayable.
And that concludes our list of some of the best and not so good games of 2020. How about you? Do you have your list of best and worst games in 2020? Kindly share it in the comments section below.
