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VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003


The Games GOTY Thread for 2020!

Hello all! New thread, new thread maker here, Videogames. The last two threads were so great and such successes that I feel this should be a yearly Games tradition. Our former host Rarity has taken a break from gaming and as such I requested a transfer of all teachings and learning in order to bring you all the 2020 version of the only true Games Awards that matter!



So 2020!
Has it been a year?
Or has it been a decade compressed into a year?
Has it been the worst year for games or the best year for games?
Has it even really been?

Needless to say 2020 has, for a ton of people, been a dramatic change to the way we live and the way we do everything. It has been unpredictable, unsteady ands unwelcome. I, and so do we all, hope that Games + video gaming has been a wonderful distraction for you this year or at least one of which has made things go a little easier.

Despite the wildness we have still have some games, and even a couple of consoles, released during this year and at the time I am writing this there is still the possibility that one of the most anticipated of all games is to be released on december the 10th! (The Medium, on Xbox One X and PC.)

So how has each month shaped up in the world of Video Gaming? Let us have a brief recap of the months events:




A quiet start to the year. No inkling of what lay ahead. Activision finished their partnership with Twitch and jumped over to YouTube for all their esports streaming.

People discover that the new version of Warcraft 3 is not only shockingly bad, but actively removes the ability to play the old version. Blizzard you rubes!

Major Games Released this month:
  • Atelier Dusk Trilogy (PC, Switch, PS4)
  • Monster Hunter World Iceborne (PC)
  • Warcraft 3: Reforged (PC)
  • Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (PS4, Xbox, Switch)
  • Journey to the Savage Planet (PS4, Xbox, PC)



Another quiet gaming month with the reality of 2020 just on the horizon. Small slivers of information about new consoles slowly trickle around and people discover that you can make PT in Dreams if so inclined. Dreams itself being a very detailed creation kit with some really amazingly in depth tools. Project Spark crawled so Dreams could rocket to the moon.

In sad news, Kazuhisa Hashimoto, who created the infamous Konami code, passed away age 61.

Sonic the Hedgehog movie is released, after having its animation redone in response to a backlash at the original Sonic designs. The movie is very much above average, especially for a video game movie. Jim Carrey is a fantastic Dr. Robotonik and the sequel hooks have got me very much looking forward to the next one!

Major Games Released this month:
  • Dreams (PS4)
  • Yakuza 5 Remastered (PS4)
  • Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)




The beginning of 2020 affecting various long held events and GDC is the first casualty and smartly decides to not go ahead.

Animal Crossing for the Switch is released and to say it did gangbusters is an understatement. Everywhere you looked there was animal crossing talk, sharing and most importantly people visiting each others islands to make up for the lack of physical contact during the lockdown. It helped tremendously.

Dan Houser left Rockstar - no one is 100% sure what the reason is.

Major Consoles released this month:
  • TurboGrafx-16 Mini

Major Games Released this month:
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
  • Half Life: Alyx (PCVR)
  • Nioh 2 (PS4)
  • Ori and the Will Of The Wisps (Xbox, PC)
  • Doom 64 (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)
  • Doom Eternal (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC, Stadia)




Cyberpunk is being released this month on the 16th...wait...sorry, no, it has been delayed to September 17th. See you in September!

FFVII Remake comes out and blows both fans of the original and new gamers alike. By all accounts it whips and still manages to surprise people fully intimate with every beat from the original.
Also it remains one of the few games to release without any patches and stay at version 1.0 for the longest time (only recently getting one for PS5 compatibility). One of the most stable games on consoles.

Pogs apparently made a resurgance and there were some dreadful lies about my opulent pog collection. I will have you know that it is nothing of the sort and these taunts will be remembered and filed away in the shame basket.

Base tier of Stadia opened up for everyone at the start of the month. Still no one cares.

Major 'Consoles' Released this month:
  • Stadia lmao

Major Games Released this month:
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)
  • Resident Evil 3 (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Streets of Rage 4 (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)
  • Trials of Mana (PS4, Switch, PC)



Vtubers are the hot discussion property in the Games gen chat thread and with good reason. Most of them are hilarious and unlike Dr. Disrespect, they do not use their platforms to tell people about the dangers of 5G towers spreading Coronavirus.

Mick Gordon left iD throwing the music for the future DLC into question. According to Marty Stratton of iD, Mick was given a lot of leeway and did not fulfil a lot of obligations. The whole thing was a bit of a mess and sad for those who love Mick's musical stylings. (I really enjoyed his work on Prey most of all.)

There was the Xbox Series X conference with its first unveiling and information on what to expect come launch as well as the first two or so years of the console's life.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons met lifetime sales prediction 52 days after launch.

Unreal 5 engine video announcement released early, denying Geoff Keighley some thunder.

Crucible is released on Windows thus being Amazon's first major original title in video gaming and proceeds to do worse than Stadia.

Major Games Released this month:
  • The Wonderful 101 Remastered (PS4, Switch, PC)
  • Golf With Your Friends (PS4, Xbox, Switch PC)
  • Minecraft Dungeons (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)



ACAB and due to their actions, there was a huge outcry of support for George Floyd in the form of BLM protests and defunding the police. Itch.io had an amazing bundle for sale with all the proceeds going to black charities which totalled just over $8.1 million dollars.

Here in the Games forum we had a thread for a gangtag with everyone who donated getting a familar and accurate line from a Streets of Rage picture: Always Trust Your Fists Police Will Never Help You. Games raised $82,604.50 in total for worthy causes to help Actblue, The Bail Project, Ending Homelessness, BLM and other fantastic causes. Just thinking about it makes me so proud of this forum that so many people helped others in very tangible ways. You are all wonderful and loved.

E3 cancelled!
Geoff Keighley sighs into his opened bag of doritoes and unscrewed bottle of Dew. "For the best," he laments, pouring one out and bathing the orange chips in a sea of nuclear green.

Sony holds a Future of Gaming event and reveals a bit more about the PS5. Their messaging is mixed to some folks and for the remainder of the year there are arguments over the PS5 being back compatible with the PS4.

Microsoft announces it will close Mixer in july and partner with Facebook Gaming. Everyone asks 'What was mixer?'

Major Games Released this month:
  • The Last of US Part II (PS4)
  • Command and Conquer Remastered Collection (PC)
  • Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour (Switch)
  • Valorant (PC)



Halo Infinite video debuts, becomes a meme via the incredible graphics.

Shortly after it gets pushed back from launch window of the Series X/S to some nebulous time in 2021

It was announced there would be a TV series based on Fallout by the Westworld team. It can hardly be worse than Fallout 76, so the bar is incredibly low.

Lego releases a full NES + TV set that is extremely awesome and very limited.


Major Games Released this month:
  • Deadly Premonition 2 (Switch)
  • Paper Mario: Origama King (Switch)
  • Ghost of Tshushima (PS4)
  • Carrion (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)



Epic decides to annoy Apple, which results in Fortnite being removed from the iOS store. Epic responds by being exceptionally gross and trying to get kids to join them in beating Apple by making a parody of the Apple 1984 advert. Epic not realising that in fact they are also the bad guys here is, however, very funny.

Gamescom was held but online only.

While not a new game, Horizon Zero Dawn came out on PC this month and while not as good of a port as Death Stranding it did eventually get patched into an extremely good and workable form. It remains one of the best games of this generation and my personal 5th favourite game of all time, so I am happy those without PS4s got to play it.

Marvel's Avengers beta dropped and many people dropped out.

https://i.imgur.com/CwXbRwp.mp4

Major Games Released this month:
  • Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (PS4, PC)
  • Risk of Rain 2 (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator (PC)
  • Wasteland 3 (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Battletoads (Xbox, PC)



Cyberpunk is being released this month on the 17th...wait...sorry, no, it has been delayed to November 19th. See you in November!

Microsoft studios, in their continuing goal to buy studios but not actually release any games, bought Zenimax and all studios owned within (like Bethesda, Arkane, iD and Machine games). The deal will be completed in the first half of 2021 but it means that Microsoft now owns a huge portion of really good games. Will they do a minecraft and keep releasing it on every platform? Or will they make them exclusives? No one can say for certain yet.

The 3DS has finally had global production ended. Not difficult to see why with the Switch being the superior handheld/console.

The 19th to the 20th saw the Game Devs of Color Expo held online and was a very, very good event! https://gamedevsofcolorexpo.com/ in case you missed it and want to check out some of the stuff that happened.


Major Games Released this month:
  • Crusader Kings III (PC)
  • 13 Sentinels (PS4)
  • Spelunky 2 (PS4)
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Marvel's Avengers (PS4, Xbox, PC, Stadia)
  • Serious Sam 4 (PC, Stadia)
  • Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Genshin Impact (PS4, PC, iOS, Droid)
  • Super Mario 3D All Stars (Switch)



October 9th is a date etched into gamer minds as Amazon and Relentless studios announce that their juggernaut of gaming, Crucible, is to have its development discontinued in a months time. If this were a just world, it would have outlasted Stadia.

Everybody is excited for next month and the promise of new consoles. The memes have criss crossed and now the PS5 is hueg and the Xbox has no games. Truly it is a fascinating and wild time to be in the sphere of video gaming.

Gen chat thread begins a fun tradition of gaming bingo, in which esteemed poster Adjunct Professor Metis becomes Bingo Cop Metis after completing her square exceptionally quickly and proving to the forums that she understands the nuances of bingo better than anyone.

Super Mario 35, a battle royale style version of SMB1, gains popularity on the switch and proves that there is still untrodden ground for battle royales in the right circumstances. Also it is ridiculously good fun.

Major Consoles released this month:
  • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.

Major Games Released this month:
  • Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4, Xbox)
  • Watch_dogs:Legion (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Star Wars Squadrons (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • Amnesia Rebirth (PS4, PC)
  • Pikmin 3 (Switch)



Cyberpunk is being released this month on the 19th...wait...sorry, no, it has been delayed to December 10th. See you in December!

Also think some consoles came out this month?? Can someone clarify? I was not able to get one so currently I believe them to be a kind of fever dream.

The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox One S Series XS Series X One have both come out and immediately sold out to a few gamers and mostly scalpers. Demand for these consoles has been extremely high, both for a new generation using SSDs for gaming and for something new to do during the pandemic. By all accounts, both consoles are doing well in what they set out to do. PS5 is running its new games great (with some occasional bugs here and there) and the Xboxes are running previous games even better than before (you can use dev mode to install retroarch and emulate all the old systems.)

Whichever console you got, you made the right choice and I trust you have fun gaming with your friends. We should see more to these systems in the next couple of years when both the PS5 has released some of its bigger on the Horizon games and the Xbox has actually made some next gen games. Exciting times ahead!

Major Consoles released this month:
  • Sony PlayStation 5 Disc/Discless Edition
  • Xbox Series X (SX) and Series S (SS)
  • Playdate

Major Games released this month:
  • Demon's Souls (PS5)
  • Bugsnax (PS4/PS5)
  • Miles Morales (PS4/PS5)
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon (PS4, Xbox SX/SS, PC)
  • Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Switch)
  • Fuser (PS4, Xbox, Switch, PC)
  • XIII (PS4, Xbox, PC)
  • World of Warcraft: Shadowlands (PC)
  • Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (PS4/PS5, Xbox SX/SS, PC, Stadia)



One of the most anticipated game of 2020 (and really something that people have been waiting for for at least 7 years from a teaser trailer) is Cyberpunk 2077 and is for real being released this month. No idea if this happens. Or even it is good or not (I am writing this and hope to have it posted before then) and I have not watched any pre release footage. Those who are excited, I hope it lives up to a near decade of expectations but for it to do this, it would have to be something very special.

At the end of the month, Flash is being removed from all major browsers. No more playing cool-math games in broken adobe flash. No more ridiculous animations. All of it will be lost in time, like bits in a broken packet. Thankfully there are some ways of going back in time to these period pieces and many sites are archiving them for future fun. Thanks Internet! Thinternet.

Monster Hunter Movie comes out Christmas day apparently, but made by Paul W.S. Anderson so be sure to keep expectations at the required level (below your seats).

Major Games Released this month:
  • Cyberpunk 2077 (PS4, Xbox, PC, Stadia)
  • Project Wingman (PC)
  • Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (PS4/PS5, Xbox SX/SS, Switch)

:siren: VOTING RULES :siren:

Rarities's thread voting rules work and stand, so here they are effortless cribbed from the last thread

Rarity posted:

1. Any game that you have played in 2020 is eligible. It could be a game from this year, it could be a game from the past, it could be a game from the future if you're some kind of time travelling god. It could be a gacha game, it could be a romhack, it could be a randomizer, it could be a mod, as long as you played it this year it's all good.

2. The joy of this thread is in getting to shout about your favourites and hear Iabout the hidden gems that you missed and we can only do that if you talk about why you've chosen the games you have. You can write a sentence, you can write an essay, whatever you like as long as you write something. Any lists posted without reasons for their picks will not be counted in the final vote.

3. If you want to list more than ten games go for it but I'll only count your top ten. If you want to list less than ten games then go for that too but I won't count it if you've done less than five. If you don't want to rank your picks then that's fine as well but again, I won't count it.

4. Don't be a dick about other people's choices. This is a positive thread to celebrate the best of video games, not a place for people to get lost in an argument over which AAA release poo poo the bed worst. If you want to be critical then take it elsewhere. Please note that this rule will be waived if anyone picks in event of hentai games or Destiny.

5. If you want to talk about spoilers in your post then by all means go for it but put a spoiler warning at the start of your list and use spoilers. Some games I am sure are going to appear I have yet to play.

6. If you want to go back and edit your list after the fact then go for it, just shoot me a PM or post in the thread to let me know you have or I might not count it.

7. Deadline for submissions is 1st January 00:00AM PST. I'll then do a live countdown of the final results in the New Year!


Rarity posted:

I just want to inform everyone that the use of images, gifs and other such creativity in your lists is heavily endorsed by the OP

Past Glory

Games GOTY Thread 2019

Games GOTY Thread 2018

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fridge corn
Apr 2, 2003

NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN :black101:
Nice op, op

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
My little baby thread is growing up :3:

Fantastic OP VG, very excited to see this year's vote from the other side :D

Quantum of Phallus
Dec 27, 2010

Whoa, great OP

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
01. Bloodborne

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK



GROUND FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR

:coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot::coolspot:

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003

Escobarbarian posted:

01. Bloodborne

:hmmyes:

Topic closed.

fridge corn
Apr 2, 2003

NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN :black101:
So happy for this thread

The 7th Guest
Dec 17, 2003

i'm going to have multiple lists due to having beaten nearly 200 games on the year.. i guess they could all just be in one post but it'll be a heck of a long post. off the top of my head:

a) a list for games made in 2020 which will be my official ranked list for VG's tallying purposes

b) a list that relitigates my top games of 2019 now that i've played more games from that year

c) a list of the top retro games i played this year

d) a non-ranked list charting my favorite game i played this year (released in any year) in specific genres, so favorite metroidvania, favorite FPS, etc.


just to get things started i'll mention the games i did not buy/play this year and whether i regret that or not (aren't you excited???)

regrettable omissions:

- Hades: Even though I'm not a fan of roguelites, everyone has talked this up as one of the best games of the year, so I do regret missing out on it.. I'll probably play it in 2021
- Black Mesa: I always said I'd give it a shot once it was finished, but by the time it was finished I had, frankly, forgotten about it. I still should play through it just to see how it compares to the original.
- Half-Life Alyx: This one is just chalked up to not having the equipment necessary. I only got a rig capable of running it this past month, and I don't have PC VR yet (just a PSVR headset that is, from what I understand, a real nightmare to set up for Steam w/ Trinus)
- Nioh 2: Loved the first Nioh, couldn't decide on whether I wanted it on PS4 or to wait for a PC release... didn't realize the PC release would be so far off! Woops!
- Death Come True: I'm sure it's trashy but I love FMV games and this one was by the Danganronpa creator so I'm sure it was at least slightly buckwild
- Ghosts of Tsushima: Even if it's a filthy disgusting open world game (I think??), I still like to support Sucker Punch
- No Straight Roads: It looked cool in previews, but the $40 price tag scared me off
- 13 Sentinels: Everyone keeps talking about the story! Buttttt I'm not the hugest SRPG person, so I decided to wait on it.
- Bugsnax: I promise I'll continue to think about it though
- Amnesia Rebirth: love Frictional games, just had too much in my backlog to want to grab it at release

non-regrettable omissions:

- Cyberpunk 2077: just don't care about it, already biased against open worlds AND CDPR games' combat, let alone everything else
- The Last of Us Pt II: didn't like the first one
- anything new from Ubisoft/Enforcer Group for personal reasons
- Battletoads: i'm honestly just putting this here to remind people that a new battletoads game came out this year and no one cared
- Spelunky 2: i never got far in the original spelunky and it was too frustrating for me. i appreciate that it was a pure roguelite at least? but i am a nasty casual gamer that needs their checkpoints and game saves....
- Godfall: has anyone even played this??
- PS5/Xbox Series X: I'm definitely happier having gotten a new PC rather than a new console. I may dip into PS5 in 2021, but there is really no rush as people essentially beta test the launch hardware.
- Any PS5/XBSX exclusive because of the above
- Deadly Premonition 2: it sounds like way more of a mess than the original and SWERY kinda put his foot in his mouth on story issues

I'm gonna put off posting the 2020 list until near the end of the month so I can cram in as many 2020 games as I can (i'm looking to have a solid top 25). also i might revist this post to add some bonus unimportant categories???

The 7th Guest fucked around with this message at 12:49 on Dec 9, 2020

Mode 7
Jul 28, 2007

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

The Black Stones
May 7, 2007

I POSTED WHAT NOW!?
I was wondering why VG didn’t list the months at all and I guess they’re in the banners that are not displaying properly in the awful app (in dark mode at least).

fridge corn
Apr 2, 2003

NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN :black101:

The 7th Guest posted:

i'm going to have multiple lists due to having beaten nearly 200 games on the year.. i guess they could all just be in one post but it'll be a heck of a long post. off the top of my head:

a) a list for games made in 2020 which will be my official ranked list for VG's tallying purposes

b) a list that relitigates my top games of 2019 now that i've played more games from that year

c) a list of the top retro games i played this year

d) a non-ranked list charting my favorite game i played this year (released in any year) in specific genres, so favorite metroidvania, favorite FPS, etc.


just to get things started i'll mention the games i did not buy/play this year and whether i regret that or not (aren't you excited???)

regrettable omissions:

- Hades: Even though I'm not a fan of roguelites, everyone has talked this up as one of the best games of the year, so I do regret missing out on it.. I'll probably play it in 2021
- Black Mesa: I always said I'd give it a shot once it was finished, but by the time it was finished I had, frankly, forgotten about it. I still should play through it just to see how it compares to the original.
- Half-Life Alyx: This one is just chalked up to not having the equipment necessary. I only got a rig capable of running it this past month, and I don't have PC VR yet (just a PSVR headset that is, from what I understand, a real nightmare to set up for Steam w/ Trinus)
- Nioh 2: Loved the first Nioh, couldn't decide on whether I wanted it on PS4 or to wait for a PC release... didn't realize the PC release would be so far off! Woops!
- Death Come True: I'm sure it's trashy but I love FMV games and this one was by the Danganronpa creator so I'm sure it was at least slightly buckwild
- Ghosts of Tsushima: Even if it's a filthy disgusting open world game (I think??), I still like to support Sucker Punch
- No Straight Roads: It looked cool in previews, but the $40 price tag scared me off
- 13 Sentinels: Everyone keeps talking about the story! Buttttt I'm not the hugest SRPG person, so I decided to wait on it.
- Bugsnax: I promise I'll continue to think about it though
- Amnesia Rebirth: love Frictional games, just had too much in my backlog to want to grab it at release

non-regrettable omissions:

- Cyberpunk 2077: just don't care about it, already biased against open worlds AND CDPR games' combat, let alone everything else
- The Last of Us Pt II: didn't like the first one
- anything new from Ubisoft/Enforcer Group for personal reasons
- Battletoads: i'm honestly just putting this here to remind people that a new battletoads game came out this year and no one cared
- Spelunky 2: i never got far in the original spelunky and it was too frustrating for me. i appreciate that it was a pure roguelite at least? but i am a nasty casual gamer that needs their checkpoints and game saves....
- Godfall: has anyone even played this??
- PS5/Xbox Series X: I'm definitely happier having gotten a new PC rather than a new console. I may dip into PS5 in 2021, but there is really no rush as people essentially beta test the launch hardware.
- Any PS5/XBSX exclusive because of the above
- Deadly Premonition 2: it sounds like way more of a mess than the original and SWERY kinda put his foot in his mouth on story issues

I'm gonna put off posting the 2020 list until near the end of the month so I can cram in as many 2020 games as I can (i'm looking to have a solid top 25). also i might revist this post to add some bonus unimportant categories???

How much time do you spend playing video games would you say on average? Not trying to be snarky or judgemental but I've maybe finished about 20 games this year and that is only because I had an entire 9 weeks off work due to covid.

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003

The Black Stones posted:

I was wondering why VG didn’t list the months at all and I guess they’re in the banners that are not displaying properly in the awful app (in dark mode at least).

Oh dark mode! I could do a 1px white stroke around the words if you think that will help?

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
Wait there's a Super Mario battle royale wtf :stare:

Lid
Feb 18, 2005

And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.
This seems like a rather down year overall and the worst being iD managing to alienate Mick Gordon. He was your lynch pin! Its so rare to ha e a non-director so clearly be the core of a game and without him... well we'll always have Doom 2016.

Make Mick Gordon soundtracks day one DLC Cyberpunk 2077.

Reveilled
Apr 19, 2007

Take up your rifles
1. Blood on the Clocktower
2. The Outer Wilds
3. Half Life: Alyx
4. Among Us
5. Hades
6. Crusader Kings III


Blood on the Clocktower
OK, I know this might be stretching "any game" a bit far since this is actually a traditional/party game, but gently caress it, my group uses a combination of Tabletop Simulator, teamspeak and a browser widget to run it so it counts to me! Blood on the Clocktower is a social deduction game like Mafia or Werewolf with a few seemingly minor tweaks that make it really sing. The main tweaks are that dead players can still contribute to discussion and vote (once), private conversations are encouraged (but visible), and some effects introduce uncertainty in the form of false information, giving the moderator a semi-active role in deciding exactly what that false info should be. None of those things are completely unique, but combined they elevate the game in a way that BotC players are notoriously terrible at articulating. But I think the lack of elimination both helps keep discussion active and prevents any sour feelings, while the private conversation rules add a gossipy feel to public discussion, because if you reveal nothing else, at the very least you can discuss who is taking whom off for a private chat, and what does that mean, etc.

The Pandemic has been quite an isolating experience, and even when you do get a chance to talk to people, there's nothing to loving talk about because we're all basically locked inside. Those weekly games of BotC have kept me sane through this, giving me a chance to be a free-wheeling chatty person again, and its felt like actual mental exercise for my atrophying social muscles. Almost every week ends with a tense, nailbiting finish as we argue over who is good and who is evil, and all the most exciting and satisfying gaming events of this year for me have arisen out of this game, and it's not just my favourite game of this year, but probably my favourite game period. I cannot wait for the end of this goddamn pandemic so I can actually play it with people face-to-face.

The Outer Wilds
This came out in 2019 and won a whole bunch of awards and deserved every one of them. I only played it this year with the Steam release, and what a magical experience it was. Picking over the archaeological bones of a lost civilisation was an engrossing experience that put me in mind of another game I played many years ago, Analogue: A Hate Story. The little clockwork solar system was a joy to explore, the feeling of discovery, wonderous. I don't want to say much more for fear of spoilers, but it's definitely my favourite conventional video game of this year.

As an aside though, if you really enjoyed the "reading about a fallen civilisation" aspect of The Outer Wilds I'd recommend giving Analogue a look. Just be warned that Analogue has a similar theme to The Handmaid's Tale, so it's a lot darker.

Half Life: Alyx
I borrowed my dad's VR headset for this game because I wasn't about to buy one just for a single game, but if a system could have only one game, you could hardly ask for a better one. I think this really showcases how high quality experiences can be possible in VR, it's every bit a full Half Life game in my view, the combat was fun, the puzzles a familiar blend of logic and physics. If only it wasn't basically the only high-quality full-length game on VR. I did really enjoy the way it tied into the other games, a significant mechanic in the game is Alyx's rewiring/hacking tool, and it didn't occur to me at the time, but watching a stream of HL2 afterward I noticed just how often that was Alyx's "thing" while she was with you. That was cool!

Among Us
For much the same reasons as BotC, I've loved the few games of Among Us I've been able to gather with friends this year. It's far more fun than such a simple game has any right to be. Needs work doing, of course, but apparently the devs are working on that, and for a small indie game that cost like £5 it's paid for itself in enjoyment many times over.

Hades
I'm a little conflicted on this one. I love rogue-likes/lites, and while I was playing it Hades scratched that itch and good. I had some excellent experiences with it, and getting that first kil of the final boss was an incredible feeling. But I only completed one more run before I shelved it. Paradoxically, though the game had an excellent story, I think that's what turned me off in the end, I found the pattern of run/story/run/story a little draining in the end, if I wanted more story, too bad do another run, if I wanted another run right after the last one, I felt obliged to pick up all the story chats between. Still, what I played of it was excellent enough to make it one of the best I played this year.

Crusader Kings III
I loved CK1 and 2, and CK3 is no different. It's a little barebones right now I think, and far, far too easy, which is why this isn't higher on the list, but almost all of the changes they made in this sequel are for the better, and with a few DLCs I'm confident this is going to clearly surpass its predecessors in quality. I was super doubtful of the 3D portraits, but an happy to be proved wrong, they look super good. I've stopped playing this for now while we wait for some more content patches, but the stuff that's in there now lasted me 200 hours so I can hardly complain!

Lid
Feb 18, 2005

And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.
Also no mention of Ghost of Tsushima in the OP as a major release.

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003

Lid posted:

Also no mention of Ghost of Tsushima in the OP as a major release.

It sure is. It came out in July and I have it sandwiched in there in third item. ;)

Amp
Sep 10, 2010

:11tea::bubblewoop::agesilaus::megaman::yoshi::squawk::supaburn::iit::spooky::axe::honked::shroom::smugdog::sg::pkmnwhy::parrot::screamy::tubular::corsair::sanix::yeeclaw::hayter::flip::redflag:
Wooooooooo!!!!!!!!! Game of the Year baybayyyyy

THE AWESOME GHOST
Oct 21, 2005

1. Hades
I'm a huge sucker for roguelike games that have enough variety to keep you coming back immediately after you lose a run. Hades managed to take that, somehow build a good story around it, and somehow tie that story in to the act of dying and retrying over and over so effortlessly it was obvious in retrospect. Loads of build variety before and during runs, crazy amounts of well written dialogue that I am still finding 100+ hours in, Adjustable difficulty and rewards that let you go for all sorts of playstyles. This is such a well made game and it came out of nowhere for me and it is insane that it beat out the other stuff on my list

2. FF7: Remake
FF7 is the first game I remember loving. It's the first game that made me realize story in a game could be on the level of a movie, that game soundtracks were good enough to be something you listen to on their own, that games can be fun even with menus and reading and planning. Remake had huge expectations going in and honestly it blew me away - this is a game that doesn't copy 1:1 the game you remembered 20 years ago, this is a game that tries its best to be as good as you remember it being 20 years ago. The effort they put into the music, making the characters more likeable, fleshing out the world and even getting a bit self aware; we could have just had FF7 with nice graphics and I'm so glad they didn't do that

3. Yakuza: Like A Dragon
I really like the Yakuza games, but they've always been about Manly Men fighting each other and everyone else being a vehicle for that. This Yakuza has you befriend the homeless, stand up for sex workers, join retired old men who fought against a corrupt system, and then has them all join your party. Having a new protagonist and a new shift to multiple main characters work together so well, even if the story goes back to the old Yakuza tropes near the end. Also the funniest game I have played in a really long time. The RPG combat is pretty well done, although obviously a first draft and I don't mind at all if they go forward with RPG main games at this point.

4. Animal Crossing
2020 was a bit poo poo for the majority of the year. This game came out just as lockdowns were starting and it was kind of nice to go to a friend's island and spend some time catching bugs when we couldn't see each other anymore. I never played an AC game in the past, and I likely never will again - but when it came out this game was the perfect "real life simulator" to make the transition a bit easier. Also I have a great house

5. Final Fantasy 14
I am not an MMO person. I barely like playing console games online let alone online only ones. But this game ambushed me with the promise of a good Final Fantasy story (Which it definitely has) and ended up making me like the whole world, want to see everything in there, and play with friends to tackle stuff together. Again a right time right place kinda game - Outside of COVID I see friends pretty much weekly and we play games like smash or board games irl, and in the absence of that doing extreme trials over discord was pretty fun. But really the star to me continues to be the world and the story - I'll probably put the game down until next expansion because I'm just not into the max level gameplay loop

6. Streets of Rage 4
7. Tony Hawk 1+2HD

This really is the year of nostalgia huh. Both games took things I liked and made them better, just like FF7 remake did but not as dramatically. But that's fine here. I really liked the chance to play games again


Games I intentionally left out:

Doom Eternal: I wish I liked this more. I loooove Doom 2016 and this just didn't click the same way. I'll go back to it one day
Ghost of Tsushima: Very pretty, fun to wander around. Not really something I put into a GOTY list
Super Mario All Stars: I feel like a loving idiot paying $60 for this lol

THE AWESOME GHOST fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Dec 9, 2020

The Black Stones
May 7, 2007

I POSTED WHAT NOW!?

VideoGames posted:

Oh dark mode! I could do a 1px white stroke around the words if you think that will help?

I can see them now. Thanks!

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003

The Black Stones posted:

I can see them now. Thanks!

Hurrah :D

Lid
Feb 18, 2005

And the mercy seat is awaiting,
And I think my head is burning,
And in a way I'm yearning,
To be done with all this measuring of proof.
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth,
And anyway I told the truth,
And I'm not afraid to die.

VideoGames posted:

It sure is. It came out in July and I have it sandwiched in there in third item. ;)

I ctrl+f'd and you had it typoed haha

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003

Lid posted:

I ctrl+f'd and you had it typoed haha

D'oh! I will leave my shame there. Too many Hs.

wuggles
Jul 12, 2017

Cool OP VG, that was fun to read :)

haveblue
Aug 15, 2005



Toilet Rascal
:neckbeard:

Another rule I would recommend importing from the old thread:

Rarity posted:

I just want to inform everyone that the use of images, gifs and other such creativity in your lists is heavily endorsed by the OP

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~

haveblue posted:

:neckbeard:

Another rule I would recommend importing from the old thread:

I am not the OP but I am making this rule official with my authority :hai:

Amp
Sep 10, 2010

:11tea::bubblewoop::agesilaus::megaman::yoshi::squawk::supaburn::iit::spooky::axe::honked::shroom::smugdog::sg::pkmnwhy::parrot::screamy::tubular::corsair::sanix::yeeclaw::hayter::flip::redflag:

Rarity posted:

I am not the OP but I am making this rule official with my authority :hai:


:hai:

Microcline
Jul 27, 2012

Can we get links in the OP to the 2018 and 2019 threads?

PunkBoy
Aug 22, 2008

You wanna get through this?
I was very happy to participate in last year's thread (for various reasons) and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's picks and writing out my own!

Rarity posted:

I am not the OP but I am making this rule official with my authority :hai:

:hai:

Weedle
May 31, 2006




i mostly played old/backlogged games this year so my goty is dark souls. i have never played a more rewarding rpg and i'm very glad to have finally experienced this

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003

haveblue posted:

:neckbeard:

Another rule I would recommend importing from the old thread:

How did I forget this?!

and

Microcline posted:

Can we get links in the OP to the 2018 and 2019 threads?

Yes! Give me one minute to edit the main post! :)

Amp
Sep 10, 2010

:11tea::bubblewoop::agesilaus::megaman::yoshi::squawk::supaburn::iit::spooky::axe::honked::shroom::smugdog::sg::pkmnwhy::parrot::screamy::tubular::corsair::sanix::yeeclaw::hayter::flip::redflag:

Weedle posted:

i mostly played old/backlogged games this year so my goty is dark souls. i have never played a more rewarding rpg and i'm very glad to have finally experienced this


Year of play is acceptable and encouraged.

Regy Rusty
Apr 26, 2010

I played mostly Ff14 this year but I should still be able to just barely get a good 10 game list together

VideoGames
Aug 18, 2003
Rule added. Past threads Added. Thinking of making a neat little graphic for them too. Might do so when I get home.

And yes, if you played Dark Souls and loved it then it can go on your list. Someone else in this thread played a lot of Bloodborne and Dark Souls. Might see that on a list perhaps ;)

WaltherFeng
May 15, 2013

50 thousand people used to live here. Now, it's the Mushroom Kingdom.
FFVII Remake part 1 came out.

And it was good.

Two good enough reasons to be GOTY.

Looper
Mar 1, 2012

Lid posted:

I ctrl+f'd and you had it typoed haha

nobody ever reads the op :(

Baggot
Sep 9, 2009

Hail to the King, baby.

VideoGames posted:

FFVII Remake comes out and blows both fans of the original and new gamers alike.

:heysexy:

DalaranJ
Apr 15, 2008

Yosuke will now die for you.
Man, look at that dearth in August titles. I wonder whether that’s more due to the new consoles or covid.

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Waffleman_
Jan 20, 2011


I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna!!!

I gotta finish 13 Sentinels and then I'll get back to you.

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