Gaming 2020 Game Of The Year

[Tiber]

Its now 10pm on New Years Eve, so I think its safe to say most of the biggest games of 2020 have now been released. What is your GOTY?


Here are mine:

1*. Astro's Playroom

I had zero hype for this game, only played it to check out the new controller tech - but it absolutely knocked my socks off. I loved the setting, the characters, the gameplay, hell even the speed runs. Its a surprise even to me, but Astro is my GOTY. This game just makes me happy.


2. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

There might be some recency bias here, I have been playing it for the last few weeks. This game is super clunky and 'JRPGish' at times, but god its a lot of fun. A true love letter to Dragonball Z fans, playing it has been an absolute delight.

3. Last of Us Part 2

Yet another great game from Naughty Dog. I thought this game was coming to an end about 3 times before it actually ended. I liked a lot of the new characters and the gameplay still holds up. A good story well told. Though it comes third rather than first because it just isn't the same without the Joel-Ellie dynamic. Also, whilst I liked Abbie a lot, I thought Ellie should have killed her in the end.


Special mention:

Bugsnax! I absolutely loved it. Caught every single snax, it was my second ever plat and I can't wait for DLC/the sequel.


* The game I most enjoyed playing in 2020 was Witcher 3. A true masterpiece from the start of the game, to the outstanding DLCs. However; whilst I didn't discover it until this year, it came out ages ago and can't be the 2020 GOTY.

 

[dumbo]

Hollow Knight, The Witness and Tetris.

Sorry I can't afford 70 dollar games.

 

[Mr Pigeon]

Crusader Kings 3.

I'm behind schedule, sorry. The only other thing from this year that I've played is Cyberpunk...

 

[Pexbo]

Absolutely agree on Astros Playground. The most unadulterated fun I have had in years and years. Took me back to my nostalgic gaming heydays. Pure joy.

 

[Siorac]

It's been a pretty shit year for games, hasn't it? Cyberpunk 2077 should have been the big one but, well...

Mine is probably the Demon's Souls remake, which is a bit sad. It's basically a very pretty game from 2009, after all.

 

[Shane88]

I'm only a few hours into it but Ghost of Tsushima. A joy to play so far.

I wish developers took Sucker Punch's lead when it comes to maps and navigation. The "wind compass" accomplishes everything map markers and an actual compass does but does it without breaking the immersion. In other games I find myself checking the map every 30 seconds. In GoT I just explore the world. Same with collectibles; see a golden bird? I'll follow that and see where it takes me instead of checklisting shit.

The combat is extremely satisfying. I'll never get tired of stand-offs and it's such a simple mechanic.

There's loads to do but they've done a great job of not making the map a cluttered mess. Everything looks so clean.

And so far, the story is great.

 

[siw2007]

Persona 5 Royal for me, with FF7R not far behind.

 

[Reditus]

I think it’s been a really good year

find it hard to choose from Demons Souls, Ff7, Ghosts and Last of us. And although not in my top list these all deserve a mention too. Doom Eternal, Nioh 2 and Res Evil 3

i havent gotten around yet to Ori, Miles Morales or Cypberpunk

 

[Massive Spanner]

Astro's, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and FF7 Remake are my top three.

Honourable mentions to TLOU2 and Wasteland 3 which were both very good.

I probably would have had Persona 5 Royal top but I'd already played the vanilla fully when it came out and it's basically the same game with extra content so I couldn't justify it.

 

[Irwin99]

Best of a solid but unspectacular bunch was probably Ghost of Tsushima. I would have said FF7R but I hated those last damn chapters and it dragged my opinion of the game down. RE3 was a bit of a letdown as well as CyberPunk.

 

[esmufc07]

FF7 Remake.

 

[Volumiza]

TLOU2 - Nothing else came remotely close and if Ghost of Tsushima is actually being considered it shows what a truly weak year it was.

 

[Chairman Steve]

1) Half-Life: Alyx
A legitimate step forward in video gaming regarding VR, as well as being a good FPS with a good story and very decent length (feared it was a glorified tech demo). I look forward to seeing what the HL mod community does with the tools and materials Valve give out

2) Doom Eternal
The best Quake game since Quake 3, which is a massive compliment. Doom itself has been somewhat outdated by Quake. I like the Devil May Cry-esque level mechanics implemented into it (levelling up stats, fight rooms you can't leave until you kill the enemies, tons of enemies, opportunity to kill with style).

3) Demon's Souls Remake
The best looking next-gen console game at the moment and probably is the best overall next-gen game. Expertly crafted remake without the need of FromSoft's midas touch.

As I am pre-dominantly a PC gamer and have been since the 90s who loves FPS gaming, it's been a good year. I'd laugh in your face if you told me a new Doom and a new Half-Life were going to come out in one year.

 

[Redlambs]

Has to be Demon's souls. Though I did like Ghost for a bit and TLOU2 was decent enough, nothing really stood out.

In indie terms, both Among Us and Phasmophobia have had ridiculous playtime from me, Hades has been a true joy too.

If we are allowed ongoing evolving games and updates, then both Tarkov and especially Sea of Thieves have really stormed on this year with some cracking content and updates.

 

[Vidyoyo]

I played one game released this year so by default it's Call of the Sea.

The best game I played the whole year though is Death Stranding, closely followed by FF12. Both great ways to pass the time.

 

[JohnZSmith27]

TLOU2 was prob my game of the year.

Really enjoyed FF7R, Ghost of Tsushima, Astro, Miles Morales and Cyberpunk. Also got around to playing Days Gone and Ratchet and Clank thanks to the PS Collection which were both great.

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

1. TLOU2
2. Astros Playroom
3. Demon Souls remake

 

[evil_geko]

1. Cyberpunk 2077
2. Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
3. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 

[Klopper76]

Played a lot of AC Valhalla and had fun with it. I’ve put a lot of time into Cyberpunk as well but found it largely frustrating for obvious reasons.

I’ve found Stellaris a lot of fun to play This year and some good additions to the console edition have come about via DLC’s. It’s not a new game this year but the updates in 2020 have added a lot.

It’s not been an amazing year for new games.

 

[Lay]

TLOU2 should have been but personally I can’t even complete it because it’s so bloated and has too much filler.

Overall a bad year for games.

 

[Tiber]

Next year is Mass Effect remastered. I don't care what else comes out, or if ME is a buggy mess - I just want to play as Shepard again.

 

[Dante]

I think the only game I played this year was Plague Inc on my phone.

 

[Rustyspider13]

A great year for games. Have to go with a top 5.

1. Final Fantasy VII Remake: It could've easily been a 1 to 1 remake with updated graphics. But Square-Enix shot for the moon and delivered a game that offered something new to both newcomers and old players alike. The graphics are beautiful (texture issues aside), the combat is stellar, the scale is grand and the story beats are delivered very well with some surprises. The music in particular is the best I've heard this year, Aerith's theme hit me every time it came on. Glorious game.

2. Hades: I don't enjoy procedurally generated games. I've never enjoyed a Rogue-like. It's a testament to the talent at Supergiant that I was obsessed with Hades for 2 weeks. I had to hard quit because if I had kept playing I wouldn't touch any other game. Fantastic art, music and gameplay in a very addicting package.

3. The Last of Us Part 2: I don't play horror games, but I played the first one and liked it very much so I had to play this. The genre combined with the story made this a very exhausting game for me. The performances are incredible and the way it told its story worked for me. It's a sad, sad game that may have been too much in 2020, but it brought out a lot of thoughts in me so I have to give the team at Naughty Dog credit.

4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps: I haven't enjoyed a metroidvania like this since Hollow Knight. Incredible visuals, music and a story that threw a gut punch that I didn't expect. Moon Studios deserve more recognition as does this game.

5. Control: It didn't release in 2020, but I played it in January, so I have to mention it here. Similar to Hades, I was obsessed with this game. With Hades it was the gameplay loop but in Control, it was the world. The mysteries of the FBC intrigued me to no end. Ashtray maze and Dynamite are among my favorite gaming moments. After missing out on Quantum Break, Control reminded me just how good Remedy's game can be and I'm very excited for what they do next.

Honorable mentions to Nioh 2, Yakuza 3,4,5 Remastered and Ghost of Tsushima. All games I enjoyed but not to the extent of those five. Won't play Yakuza: LAD, Miles Morales and Demon's Souls until next year, they'll probably be up there for my 2021 GOTY list.

 

[syrian_scholes]

1- Persona 5 Royal

2- Yakuza: Like a Dragon

3-Ghost of Tsushima

Honorable mentions: Animal Crossing, Demon's Souls, and Spider man: Miles Morales

Biggest disappointment: Ori and the Will of the Wisps

 

[VeevaVee]

Only sony heads could spin astros bloody playroom as goty

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I'm only a few hours into it but Ghost of Tsushima. A joy to play so far.

I wish developers took Sucker Punch's lead when it comes to maps and navigation. The "wind compass" accomplishes everything map markers and an actual compass does but does it without breaking the immersion. In other games I find myself checking the map every 30 seconds. In GoT I just explore the world. Same with collectibles; see a golden bird? I'll follow that and see where it takes me instead of checklisting shit.

The combat is extremely satisfying. I'll never get tired of stand-offs and it's such a simple mechanic.

There's loads to do but they've done a great job of not making the map a cluttered mess. Everything looks so clean.

And so far, the story is great.

I'm probably 40% in and I concur. I wouldn't say it's the best written game - the dialogue is pretty basic - but I'm having a lot of fun with it. And I think it's mainly down to the combat which is excellent and a really nice balance between fun and challenging. The open world points you make are also spot on.

However I've not really played any other 2020 game (I'm in catch up mode) so I can't say it's GOTY

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Only sony heads could spin astros bloody playroom as goty

To be honest I've heard it's fanatastic. I mean if Mario can be that then I'm sure this can too, for some people. Wouldn't be the kind of game that would be mine though.

 

[VeevaVee]

To be honest I've heard it's fanatastic. I mean if Mario can be that then I'm sure this can too, for some people. Wouldn't be the kind of game that would be mine though.

Could be best free children’s game of the year I guess

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Could be best free children’s game of the year I guess

Yet another category PS would have a contender in then

 

[Tiber]

Only sony heads could spin astros bloody playroom as goty

Dunno about that. Xbox players won't be able to talk about anything other than PS or Nintendo games in this thread, might have to lower themselves to Astro...or the Mixer app I suppose.

 

[Pink Moon]

Microsoft Flight Simulator.

 

[Freak]

1. Animal Crossing
2. Ghost of Tsushima

I did not like TLOU2. I felt it was a disappointment after the masterpiece of the first one.

 

[Andy_Cole]

1. Pokémon Sword - saved me during isolation
2. Spider-Man MM
3. Astros

 

[esmufc07]

Dunno about that. Xbox players won't be able to talk about anything other than PS or Nintendo games in this thread, might have to lower themselves to Astro...or the Mixer app I suppose.

Great post

 

[Spoony]

BOTW. I don't care when it came out but I played it this year. Check it out....it's playable.

 

[Norris]

Fifa 21 but only because that's the only 2020 game I played.

 

[Berbasbullet]

TLOU 2 for me.

@VeevaVee what’s yours?

 

[Deery]

Warzone needs a mention great for a free game and got a lot through lockdown.

 

[Paxi]

Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

This is one incredible game. It looks absolutely freaking amazing in 4K 120hz on an OLED. Game is beautifully crafted. Just a class class game.

 

[Kaos]

1. Hades
2. Demon Souls remake

That's about it for me tbh. I really want to try Yakuza: Like a dragon since I'm a huge fan of the series, but will wait for the PS5 release. Was tempted to also throw in Cyberpunk 2077 because of the time I spent on it, but couldn't bring myself to do it because of how much of a let down it was.